Do Subsidies Hurt Globalization?
Do subsidies hurt globalization?
The correlation between poverty and obesity can be traced to agricultural policies and subsidies.
Michael Pollan
The BBC project about unfair trade „The dollar-a-day-dress” reveals the unfairness inherent in todays global textile trade and proves that free trade is not always the same that fare trade. In the free trade game the needs of poor countries are not taken into consideration. For example, Mali, Uganda, Cambodia and Peru suffer from textile industry stagnation. But what is the reason for such a situation? Is it a fault of American subsidizing and protectionism?
American government give large sums of money to agriculture traders and farmers to increase their overall profits and maintain tariff barriers to protect local manufacturers. This allows local exporters to reduce the prices of their goods dramatically. With these agricultural subsidies American manufacturers reaches the overproduction and do not need any other sources any more. The access to the United States market is restricted for poor farmers all over the world. For millions of people in poorest countries, the so called “world market” of agricultural products simply does not exist.
As Former Minister of Culture and Tourism of Mali said in the video: „Development has been successful for the developers but not for us. We are not developed. We are submitted more and more.” I believe these words characterize the situation the best. World authorities are trying to persuade everyone that fair trade rules are equal for each country, but at the same time developed countries has possibilities inaccessible for poor countries. Such countries as Mali or Uganda are not able to subsidize and protect its farmers, so it is clear that poorer countries cannot compete with the developed ones. “American are killing