Download Trade Agreements

CONTENT
• TRADE INSTRUMENTS AND FRAMEWORKS WORK
TOWARDS WTO OBJECTIVES
• REACTIONS TO PRO-TRADE ARGUMENTS
• SOME TRADE AGREEMENTS
• IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION
• DIFFERENTIATED IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION
ON WOMEN AND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY
– Income effects
– Health and Morbidity
– Capabilities
ARGUMENTS FOR TRADE LIBERALIZATION
Y=C+G+I+(X-M)
• Trade accelerates overall economic growth, which raises
profits and promotes greater savings and investment and thus
further growth
• It promotes competition, improves ressources allocation and
fosters specialization in sectors where countires have
comparative advantage (best suited to produce)
• Trade enlarges a country ’s access to scarce resources and its
consumption capacities
• It increases world output
• It provides access to worlwide markets for poor countries
• It tends to promote greater competiton, attracts foreign
capital, technology and expertise into developing countries
• Trade generates very needed foreign exchange to pay for debt
or imports
TRADE INSTRUMENTS AND FRAMEWORKS WORK
TOWARDS WTO OBJECTIVES
HIPC
WTO
Fosters trade liberalization
among nations
Sets contracts binding nations
to keep their trade policies
within agreed limits
Establishes dispute settlement
measures promoting freer trade
Monitors countries
appliance to trade rules
Liberalization reforms of financial and
labor sectors
Reforming goods and services markets
Privatization programmes
COTONOU
AGREEMENT
Trade liberalization
not Aid
AGOA
More benefits for large foreign and
multinational investors
Endorsement of privatization
Rights of foreign investors to establish in any
African country without conditionality
Obligation to cut corporate taxes and to apply
same rules to foreign investors
REACTIONS TO PRO-TRADE ARGUMENTS
• Development cannot be measured only in terms of
growth
• Non market activities which are excluded in model
play a determinant role than cannot be neglected in
favor of market-focussed trade
• Gender factors in terms of differentiated positions
and power relations between women and men within
and outside different markets (labor, financial and
goods and services) arenas are totally excluded from
the model
• Gender impacts of trade offset the anticipated
benefits from trade (increased gender inequalities,
and women’s insecurity)
REACTIONS TO PRO-TRADE ARGUMENTS
•
Trickle down effect of growth gains from trade is a
myth not a reality in developing countries
• Limited growth of world demand for primary goods
exports because of developed countries demand
shift from high technology and skills intensive
products
• Secular deteriorating
developing nations
terms
of
trade
against
• Increased sophisticated “protectionism” from
developed countries against developing countries
manufactured and processed agricultural products
SOME TRADE AGREEMENTS
• Agriculture: sale of transgenetic seeds, dependency on
chemicals seeds, processing and sale of food;
vulnerability of women small farmers and food
producers and processors; land issues; production
costs; no protection for food security; reduction and
elimination of subsidies. New and very complex system
of subsidies.
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Services
(GATS): 160 sectors involved; health, education, debt
servicing,culture, telecommunications, banks, etc, all
human
livelihoods and security-related
sectors;
privatization of public services and submission to
market and competition laws. Rights to education
health, culture, positive discrimination for girls’
education...; Privatization of land, water endangering
women’s livelihood and security.
Foreign banks
IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION
Foreign Sector
Cheap labor for little wages
Households
Gendered redistribution of
labor
Consumer demand
Consumer goods
Financial Institutions
Borrowing
Repaying
Government
Imports
payments
Private Sector
DIFFERENTIATED IMPACT OF TRADE
LIBERALIZATION ON WOMEN AND
HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY
1.
Income effects
• New job opportunities More women than men accessing
new jobs mostly low standard jobs
• Marginal increase revenues
• Threat to poor women’s small businesses
• Competition between cheap imported good and locally
produced commodities
• Comodification of Utilities and public goods (water,
energy, land, etc.)
• Increased costs of utilities (production or consumption
good)
• Increased time devoted to provide household services
and utilities
2.
Health and Morbidity
• Women’s access to labor market impact on
girls household work servicing
• Increased morbidity, health insecurity
• increased expenditure and on health
provisioning
• New private sector ande labor lead to reduced
access to health benefits and social protection
• Food insecurity impacts from exports
promotion (from market access to nutritional
level or calorie intake)
3.
Capabilities
• Less rights, participation, security, etc.
• Women’s unpaid more devalued work
devalued with increased focus on markets
• Enterprise development threatened because of
unleveled competition field
• Access to use of ICT
• Increased organizing capacities
• Increased opportunities for learning
NETWORK OF AFRICAN WOMEN
ECONOMISTS
NETWORKING
Networks
WICEJ
IWGGT
Regional
WIDE, etc
institutions
Civil society
organisations
Partners
IGTN
GERA
AWE
AAWORD
Etc.
Women’s
groups
Parliamentarians
Ministries
-Finance
-Budget
-Women
-Planning
CAPACITY BUILDING
Needs assessment
Training materials
TOT
Training workshops
MACRO-ECONOMIC POLICY FRAMEWORK
DETERMINANTS
OUTCOMES
OUTPUTS
INTERNAL
MARKET FORCES
JOBS
EXTERNAL
STOCKS
MACRO ECONOMICS
PRICES
GROWTH
POLICY LEVERS
INTERMARKET
BALANCE
Wars
Population Growth
Internal Market
Forces
External Forces
Innovation
Interest
Rates
Weather
Tax
Policy Levers
Spending Patterns
Trade Distruptions
Budget
Decisions
Money Supply