At a recent event at the US Global Leadership Campaign, Defense Secretary Gates led the call for greater balance when he remarked, ?It has become clear that America?s civilian institutions of diplomacy and development have been chronically undermanned and under-funded for far too long?relative to what we spend on the military, and more important, relative to the responsibilities and challenges our nation has around the world.?
?Defense Secretary Gates is advocating for a smart power approach to US foreign policy, and we cannot have smart power unless we have smart development,? said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. ?Smart development means the US must prioritize long-term poverty alleviation alongside defense and diplomacy concerns.?
According to Oxfam, America?s glaring lack of investment in development is evident when one considers that in the 1990s, 37 percent of the US Agency for International Development?s (USAID) workforce left without being replaced. USAID, which has traditionally led US foreign assistance efforts, also saw direct hires working in the field drop by 29 percent from 2002 to 2005. Oxfam states that while some strides have been made to increase and restructure overseas aid, much greater reform of US foreign aid is needed to ensure that the long-term needs of the poor?not politics?come first.
?The next president and his administration have a chance to put smart development in practice to create a better foreign aid system?a better international face for the US?that will help lift millions from poverty and re-establish US global standing,? said Offenheiser.
Oxfam recently released Smart Development: Why US Foreign Aid Demands Major Reform. In it, the agency outlines its approach to smart development including implementing development in the context of the other forces at work in various societies, helping states govern effectively, creating markets that function fairly and working with poor people to achieve the basic tools to generate their own wealth over time.
]]>"Given the context of rising food and fuel prices, a fair trade deal as promised could make a massive difference to people living in poverty around the world," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "But what's currently on the table falls far short of what is needed and continues to prioritize the interests of rich countries, as locking in big tariff cuts without adequate safeguards in place will only expose poor farmers to more shocks."
As trade ministers from 35 countries gather at the World Trade Organization in another attempt to forge a trade deal, Oxfam is calling for a clear and transparent process that involves all members and gives formal opportunities to respond to proposals.
If current offers are accepted, the US may not have to cut a penny from current spending on agriculture, and the EU will only have to cut around $2.6bn, from a total of $30bn, according to Oxfam. The proposals on non-agricultural trade will lock poor countries into low-value economies by preventing them from building up infant industries through strategic trade policy.
"High prices certainly present the opportunity to reform, but with current proposals, this opportunity looks set to be squandered," said Offenheiser. "A trade deal that only accommodates vested interests could be destructive for development and efforts to reduce poverty."
The recently passed US Farm Bill has landed like an unwelcome guest at the negotiating table. In a new analysis released today, Oxfam outlines how the Farm Bill undermines progress in the Doha Round. Despite the fact that US farmers are enjoying very high prices and record farm income -- an average of $89,000 per farm -- the US Congress actually expanded government farm subsidies in the 2008 Farm Bill and reinstated cotton subsidies previously ruled illegal at the WTO.
"Not only do provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill go against previously agreed to obligations at the WTO, but they maintain -- and in some cases, increase -- precisely the subsidies and market protections that developing countries entered the Doha Round to stop," said Offenheiser.
Europe has also not done enough to ensure a pro-poor deal. The EU continues to insist on exemptions for its sugar, beef and dairy farmers, while simultaneously denying poor countries the space to safeguard their own farmers' livelihoods. In recent weeks they have proposed resurrecting the controversial 'peace clause' which would protect them from challenge at the WTO.
"A fair trade deal would mean significant reform of trade distorting subsidies in rich countries coupled with flexibilities for poor countries to promote food security, livelihoods and rural development," said Offenheiser. "But what we're looking at now would only entrench existing advantages for rich countries and vulnerabilities for poor countries."
]]>“U.S. government foreign aid is broken, limiting our country's ability to effectively reduce global poverty,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. “Over 22 months of hearings and interviews, and not one person appeared before the HELP Commission to defend the foreign aid status quo. Now is the time for the presidential candidates to declare aid reform as a foreign policy priority.”
The Foreign Assistance Act and the agency it authorized—the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—came into being in 1961.
“The original Act was less than 100 pages, now it’s over 2,000 pages. If the US is to be a global leader in helping to build strong economies and alleviating poverty, we need legislation, capacity and an organization that can respond to the humanitarian and development challenges of the 21st century,” continued Offenheiser. “But nothing will happen without presidential leadership. Our presidential candidates need to put aid reform at the center of their foreign policy platforms if the US is to reestablish its global standing.”
While Oxfam embraces the Commission’s call for major reform and most of its specific recommendations, the agency says the Commission did not go far enough in advocating for a cabinet seat for international development alongside defense and state.
“We believe the interests of the world’s poor are best served by giving department level clout to development, on par with the Departments of Defense and State,” concluded Offenheiser.
In its new report, the Commission argues for a new foreign aid business model, based on eight core principles:
Oxfam supports the following recommendations put forth by the HELP Commission to meet its eight core principles: