Winners Take it All

The Indian Express     28th October 2020     Save    
QEP Pocket Notes

Context:  While the openness of trade is being promoted all around, free trade is marred by the distorting power of the global capital.

Issues with the free trade:

  • Foreign investors threatening the government to pass laws: 
  • Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses of international trade and investment agreements empower them to resort to a secretive tribunal.
  • Nearly 150 members of the European and national parliaments have signed a letter saying the ISDS threatens their climate ambitions.
  • Threatens the rights of local people: 
  • The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of International Property Rights (TRIPS) is used by multinational pharma companies to deny affordable medicines to the world’s poorer people.
  • In India, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020 makes it easier for investors to take over lands for projects by debilitating the assessment process.
  • The new labour codes passed by Parliament also weakened the rights of workers to be represented by unions.
  • New business models are forcing more workers into short term contracts to make it easier for investors to do business.
  • The conflict between democracy and capitalism: Democracy runs on the principle of human rights while capitalism runs on the principle of property rights (One dollar gives one vote; a million dollars gives a million.)
  • Terms of trade are set by the rich : leading to increased inequalities; for e.g. the terms of trade in India are stacked against small farmers to keep prices low for consumers.

Conclusion: Voices of the poorest people and their associations must be heard more loudly than the opinions of the rich and their lobbies in deciding the terms of trade.

QEP Pocket Notes