Update on Our EPA Trade Justice Action - June 2010

Recently we asked you to support countries in Africa who were resisting unfair trade deals with Europe by emailing the members of the Dáil Committee on Foreign Affairs. Over 300 of you wrote to the committee members, expressing your concern that these deals could do considerable damage to poor countries’ economic development.

The bad news is that the government succeeded in passing these deals through the Dáil. The good news is that your action made a big difference.

TDs at the hearing mentioned the contact from concerned campaigners, and all opposition TDs present voted against the agreements. Some members of the Committee strongly opposed the deals, and ensured a long and considered debate of their merits took place.

At the hearing Michael D. Higgins said

“There is an interesting contradiction in the way in which the Houses are dealing with the agreements. It is not merely the case that the process by which they are being discussed in the Dáil and at the committee is defective. What is happening is that we are being given a trade rather than a development presentation. With the greatest of respect, everything relating to the existing economic model has changed in the past couple of years. Once again, countries in Africa are contemplating freedom from hunger, sufficiency in food production and changes with regard to land tenure. A new form of economics is being discussed, but what is being imposed is the worst detritus of an old, failed economic model.”

Maureen O’Sullivan noted:

“Apart from the extent of the criticism an area of disquiet for me is that some African countries have not yet signed. It would appear that we are being rushed into signing, which I do not understand. There are problematic clauses from the African point of view. Some of these organisations state categorically that there could be worsening of the situation and that it could be detrimental to the poorer countries.”
 
The Minister for Overseas Development Peter Power also mentioned the concerns which Comhlámh, Oxfam and Trócaire, and their supporters had expressed to him and assured us that those concerns will be raised by Ireland at meetings in Brussels. We raised awareness on these controversial deals, helped to ensure that a proper debate took place, and reminded our political representatives that trade justice is still an important issue and that EPAs are not done and dusted (far from it!)

To read the transcript of the committee hearing go here - http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=FOS20100616.xml&Node=H2#H2 .

Watch a video of the hearing

To see Michael D Higgins’ response, followed by Maureen O’Sullivan click here

See an Irish Times article on the Dáil debate. And our partner Trócaire’s response.

To learn more about these issues see here

If you’d like to get active and campaign on trade justice why not join our volunteer group?

To read a statement from the Tanzanian Trade Coalition statement on EPAs see here