CETA threatens small and medium-scale livestock farms in Italy; the risks of further economic (and therefore decision-making) reinforcement of a single industrial group on the entire dairy sector; unfair competition among imported products, especially cereals; the impact on Italian products still certified “free from GMOs,” which may be contaminated by seeds and reproductive materials imported from Canada.
Capitalism and Free Trade
Chile: ANAMURI denounces the WTO Ministerial, reiterates the call for an alternative trade framework
ANAMURI strongly opposes the character of Free Trade Agreements which, following WTO rules, endanger the Food Sovereignty of the world’s peoples, undermining the autonomy and self-sufficiency of national and local economies with adverse effects on the living conditions and wages of all workers, including migrants and especially women who daily struggle for the right to food.
Farmers’ protests in Europe and the deadend of neoliberalism
Since the 1980s, various regulations that ensured fair prices for European farmers have been dismantled. The EU put all its faith in free trade agreements, which placed all the world’s farmers in competition with each other, encouraging them to produce at the lowest possible price at the cost of their own incomes and growing debt.
‘Quit WTO Day’: Indian peasant unions agitate against the World Trade Organization
Reportedly, on the 26th February, farmers staged protests against the World Trade Organization at over 400 district centers across India. They handed over petitions to the officials of the State urging the Indian government to protect domestic support programs and food stockholding programs at the 13th Ministerial Meeting of the WTO in Abu Dhabi.
WTO is unfit for purpose in an era of multiple crises; It is time for an Alternative: Asian Civil Society
Members of La Via Campesina in Asia have joined a host of other civil society organizations and social movements to call out the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which is meeting in Abu Dhabi from 26-29 February 2024. The way forward for the South is a path outside of the WTO. An alternative is now more urgent than ever,.
Indonesia: SPI Urges Government to Exclude Agriculture from WTO Discussions
The importation of 3 million tons of rice in 2024 led to a decrease in rice prices at the local farmer level across various regions. This policy is aligned with WTO principles, prioritizing free trade without considering the welfare of domestic producers.
Europe: ECVC puts forth concrete suggestions to guarantee fair prices to peasant farmers
In a press release issued on 27th February, the European Coordination Via Campesina demanded an obligation at the EU level to ensure prices paid to farmers cover the costs of production, including a decent income for the work of farmers and agricultural workers and their social security contributions. A new trade framework based on food sovereignty should be implemented.
Korean Peasants: Free trade is over! Stop the WTO ministerial conference destroying agriculture!
Free trade has already ended. The unequal world order created by free trade has also ended. The WTO ministerial conference, trapped in past glory, should be immediately halted. The Western world is pressuring developing countries to abolish domestic subsidies for agriculture, claiming they distort trade.
Free Trade Agreements are Failed Trade Agreements. An alternative is now urgent and necessary
La Via Campesina is calling all our members, allied social movements, civil society organizations, and friends in academia and policy spaces – including those in governments – to join us in this effort of building a framework that can help build a fair system of trade, rooted in principles of food sovereignty and social justice.
“Defend peasant interests at MC 13,” Indian peasant farmers write to their Ministry, to mark ‘Quit WTO Day’ on February 26th
The 13th Ministerial Meeting of the WTO is set to commence on February 26th, and India has been among the leading advocates on vital issues of domestic support and Public Stock Holding (PSH) programs that developing countries and least developed countries want to undertake.