Make Trade Fair

Image:MakeTradeFair.svg

Make Trade Fair was a campaign organized by Oxfam International to promote trade justice and fair trade among governments, institutions, and multinational corporations. As of 2022, the website is defunct. It first appears to have gone offline in early 2004.

Objectives

The campaign has focused on the elimination of several trade practices:

Dumping, which occurs when highly subsidized, surplus commodities from developed countries such as rice, cotton, corn, and sugar are sold at low prices and farmers from poor countries have difficulty competing. It is believed that this creates an uneven playing field where farmers in developing countries are unable to compete in the market with cheaper foreign produce and crops.{{cite web|url=http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=issues_dumping.htm#|title=Rigged Rules - Dumping|access-date=January 29, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209051849/http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=issues_dumping.htm|archive-date=February 9, 2006|url-status=dead}}
Tariffs, where nations enforce high taxes on imported goods, restricting the sales of products from other nations.{{cite web|url=http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=issues_marketaccess.htm|title=Rigged Rules - Market Access|access-date=January 29, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221040624/http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=issues_marketaccess.htm|archive-date=February 21, 2006}}
Unbalanced labour rights for women, who often perceive that they earn lower wages than their male counterparts.{{cite web|url=http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=issues_labour.htm|title=Rigged Rules - Labour Rights|access-date=January 29, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051224162419/http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=issues_labour.htm|archive-date=December 24, 2005}}
Stringent patent issues, that prevent the prices of medication, software, and textbooks (e.g. Gene patents, Chemical patents, and Software patents) from being lowered. Thus, such essential goods are often inaccessible to developing nations.{{cite web|url=http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=issues_patents.htm|title=Rigged Rules - Patents|access-date=January 29, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060322075359/http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=issues_patents.htm|archive-date=March 22, 2006}}

Key events

=Make Trade Fair concerts=

In 2002 and 2004, special benefit concerts were held in London to promote the Make Trade Fair campaign. Proceeds from the shows went to aid Oxfam's promotional campaigns. Produced by Emily Eavis, Marianne Troup, and Lily Sobhani, performers from the 2002 "Fairplay" gig include Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland from Coldplay, Noel Gallagher, and Ms. Dynamite, while the 2004 event included Michael Stipe, Razorlight, and The Thrills.{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/stars/mtf_concert.htm|title=Make Trade Fair Concert 2004|access-date=January 29, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112013559/http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/stars/mtf_concert.htm|archive-date=January 12, 2006|url-status=dead}}

In 2008, the Make Trade Fair support CD The Cake Sale was produced. The 9 songs were performed by Lisa Hannigan, Nina Persson, Gary Lightbody, Gemma Hayes, Glen Hansard, Josh Ritter, Conor Deasy and Neil Hannon, and written by Deasy, Hansard, Emm Gryner, Paul Noonan, Ollie Cole, Damien Rice and others.{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfamireland.org/whatwedo/campaigns_advocacy/make_trade_fair/thecakesale.shtml |title=Make Trade Fair CD 2008 |access-date=February 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121174042/http://www.oxfamireland.org/whatwedo/campaigns_advocacy/make_trade_fair/thecakesale.shtml |archive-date=January 21, 2008 |url-status=dead }}

=WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005=

The Make Trade Fair campaign was active at the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005, held in Hong Kong. Various demonstrations and activities were held, including the handover of some 17.8 million signatures on the Big Noise petition to WTO Director General Pascal Lamy.{{cite web|url=http://www.maketradefair.com/en/pages/galleries/wto01.htm|title=WTO summit photos|access-date=February 18, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090706203209/http%3A//www.maketradefair.com/en/pages/galleries/wto01.htm|archive-date=July 6, 2009}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20020411103141/http://www.maketradefair.com/ Make Trade Fair (official site)]
[http://www.oxfam.org Oxfam International]
[http://www.oxfamamerica.org Oxfam America]
[http://www.tjm.org.uk Trade Justice Movement]

Category:Fair trade

Category:Oxfam