Trade Justice Group

International trade between my country and the West is like a giraffe and an antelope competing for fruit that is at the top of a tree. You can make the ground beneath their feet level, but the contest will still not be fair.” - Rev Dr Aboagye-Mensah, Christian Council of Ghana

The Trade Justice Group is a group of volunteers who care about global justice. We raise awareness of how unfair trade rules prevent some of the poorest countries in the world from moving out of poverty.

Countries of the Global South lose much more through unfair trade rules than they receive in aid from rich countries. The Trade Justice Group believes that trade should be used as a tool for poor countries to develop. For this to happen, global trade rules need to change.

We meet on the first and third Tuesday evening of every month at Comhlámh's Dublin office - 2nd Floor, Ballast House, Aston Quay, Dublin 2.  To see a map of where our office is click here. New members who would like to learn more about, and campaign for, trade justice are always welcome. And don’t worry; you don’t need a degree in economics to join us! So do come along and join the adventure!

For those who can’t come regularly, we have a mailing list to keep informed of the group’s activities, current trade issues and developments in trade negotiations.
Contact the Trade Justice Group by emailing fleachta@comhlamh.org or contact the office at 01 4783490

Activities of the group include:

• Helping to run the 6 week Global Trade Course every autumn
• Creating flyers to raise awareness on trade justice issues
• Attending festivals to engage the public on trade justice issues
• Organising petitions to send to relevant politicians
• Organising fundraisers to raise funds for the group, raise awareness of trade justice issues and have fun!
• Raising the issues in the media through letters to the editor
• Raising the issues in the Dáil by submitting parliamentary questions
• Lobbying politicians for change by bringing trade issues to the attention of public representatives at national and EU level

Current Campaigns:

Comhlámh currently has 2 main trade campaigns. We campaign on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), free trade deals that the EU is negotiating with 76 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Trade justice activists fear these deals could have devastating impacts for the economies of ACP countries.

We also campaign on the Raw Materials Initiative, the EU’s trade policy on raw materials. We want the EU to stop using trade and investment deals to prevent developing countries from controlling and benefiting from their own natural resources.

You can learn more about our current campaigns by going to our Campaigns section. 

Images are available at Trade Justice Group Gallery