OXFAM's Global Reach by Raymond Offenheiser
"Globalization and Social Responsibility" Conference (social work 258)

"Consequences of the New Economy" was the theme for St. Olaf College's Globalization and Social Responsibility conference. The conference explored the social and economic effects of the globalization of capitalism. One of the speakers for this event was Raymond Offenheiser, a leader in international development and philanthropy, and president of OXFAM America. OXFAM America, an international nonprofit agency, is recognized for its human rights and national public education program on issues of hunger and injustice throughout the world. Offenheiser's lecture, OXFAM's Global Reach , addressed the increasing interdependence in global markets and its effects on agriculture, coffee, and fair trade.

World trade has the potential to reduce poverty, if poor people could sell their products at a reasonable price. However, the injustices of the world trade system are stopping them. Unfair trade agreements and agricultural subsides hinder efforts to reduce poverty in poor countries. In particular, farm and trade policies in the United States and the European Union are creating adversities for family farmers worldwide. The world's wealthy countries provide a substantial amount of money to support agriculture, enabling corporate and large-scale farmers in these countries to grow more than is needed. The access is dumped on international markets, where it is sold for less than it costs to grow. This dumping drives down prices and destroys the livelihood of farmers in countries that do not subsidize farmers and are forced to open their markets to foreign commodities.

Unfair trade and farm policies that allow dumping are a major cause of poverty, since many poor communities rely on agriculture as a major source of income. If farmers can't sell their crops for a fair price, they must leave their lands, their families, and migrate in search of jobs. American cotton subsidies are a prime example of how US agriculture and trade policies worsen poverty in Africa. These American subsides have greatly reduced world cotton prices, generating losses to African producers. Although West African cotton farmers are more efficient, low-cost producers they cannot compete with the US producers' access to huge subsidies. Consequently, the cotton price crisis is contributing to the poverty for millions of African farmers. Unfortunately, farm and trade policies do not help most small farmers in the United States either. Low world prices are quickly forcing US family farmers out of business, while large-scale, corporate agriculture benefits from government payments.

The global coffee crisis is also creating hardships for families around the world. Coffee is grown in more than 50 countries worldwide. Many of them are developing nations that depend on coffee as their main export, but their entire economies are collapsing due to plummeting coffee prices. The global coffee crisis is caused by a worldwide excess of coffee that allows coffee corporations to buy beans very cheaply. These prices are so low that they do not cover farmers' costs of production, causing poverty and starvation for hundreds of thousands of farmers and their families. For example, coffee has been one of the most important products for the Central American economy for decades. It has been very important not only for income but also for employment. The situation is especially critical in Central America for the rural coffee producers living in remote areas who depend on coffee for cash income to survive.

Currently, two policies are being proposed to correct the injustices of the world trade system: the Free Trade Agreements for Central America (CAFTA) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The CAFTA is part of an effort by the United States to expand a doctrine of free trade across the hemisphere. The FTAA is intended to extend an open market zone across the entire hemisphere, and may even go beyond some policies regulated by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Opponents of these policies argue that they could be disastrous for family farmers, indigenous people and others whose livelihoods are threatened by unrestrained trade. The theory behind these policies assumes a level playing field among countries. In reality, the trading system is distorted by trade rules and double standards, which prevents the poor from benefiting from the increased investment and trade. Proponents of the CAFTA and FTAA argue that a larger free-trade zone would give smaller countries access to more economic opportunities and stimulate economic growth for all participants. After listening to Offenheiser's lecture I too oppose CAFTA and the FTAA. I feel these two policies will prevent countries' abilities to use trade to serve the needs of the majority of poor people for three reasons. First, they will permit duty-free access to Central American markets for all US agricultural products, which will destroy the livelihood of Central American producers. Second, they will change the rules of investment, which will significantly restrict Latin America and Caribbean governments in their ability to regulate foreign investment to promote their own sustainable development. Thirdly, these trade rules will also limit access to low-cost generic equivalent drugs, which will affect the majority of poor people in Latin America and the Caribbean who cannot afford to pay high prices for patented drugs. In my opinion, these policies create unfair trade rules that benefit investors and corporations, and create increased hardships for poor communities and entire national economies. Because of this, I feel changes should be made to ensure equal opportunity for all nations to benefit from the global market.

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