WTO Sidelines Developing Nations

A decade has passed since the proposed agenda to put developing nations at the center of international trade.  Has the World Trade Organization failed to deliver on their promises?  It appears so when economic and political interestes are of concern for global powers.  The future of the world's poor looks grisly if genuine cooperation amongst competing nations don't happen soon.         

Some notable WTO failures effecting the poor:

• Cotton: barriers created for 15 million cotton farmers across West Africa trying to trade their way out of poverty, but are forced out of business due to subsidies ($47 bn) allocated to rich-country producers
• Agricultural subsidies: overproduction due to subsidies paid to rich country farmers 
• Trade agreements: unclear and ambiguous rules making it easier for rich nations to manipulate the poorest countries
• Medicine: lack of accessibility to affordable medicine (ambiguity between government protection and IP rights of pharmaceutical companies)
• Legal costs: lack of improvements made to accessibility to expensive and complex legal system (400 cases initiated)
• Natural disasters: immediate alleviation of suffering in developing nations 
• Decision-making: inability to break the link between market size and political weight - trumps the voice of poor countries in trade negotiations

Should developing nations take the back seat?  Most definitely not.  We are all interconnected and it is imperative that we help the weak to strengthen our global community as a whole.  

--Georisa Chang

SOURCE: The Guardian

Results of Summit to Rebalance Global Economy

After two days of intense discussion among G20 leaders, a consensus has been met concerning the financial and economic future of the eurozone and developing nations.  It has been decided that plans to increase the resources of the International Monetary Fund will take place in hopes of re-stabilizing the global economy with the promise of growth.  Understand that the additional contributions to be made into the IMF are to help countries in severe distress, not for the purpose of alleviating the debt crisis of the eurozone alone.  There are more poverty stricken nations that are in much dire need of the financial assistance.

It is certain that coming out of the eurozone debt crisis will be no easy feat, even more so when countries outside of the eurozone are reluctant to contribute to the bailout fund, confirms German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  But, should the rest of the world be taking on the problems of the eurozone?  Not all European nations are on board for increasing taxes on their citizens.  Despite Europe's current financial anguish, G20 leaders have come together and devised a final communiqué that will confront the current global structural issue directly.

To achieve the ultimate goal of global stability and growth requires a collective and ambitious action.  It is in the hands of G20 to make the change and make a difference in the lives of the suffering. 

“Europe has the capacity to meet this critical challenge... understanding that these problems will not be solved overnight...”  

-President Barack Obama

-Georisa Chang

SOURCE: BBC News

World Is Moving From Mostly Poor to Mostly Middle Class!

India started off the 21st century with a boom by opening with the "Incredible India" campaign. The campaign was established to attract tourists from across the globe. But unexpectedly, instead of international travelers showing up, Indians did! Due to the explosive economic growth a new domestic middle class has established itself. And they have become a powerful in the markets abroad. They now outspend Americans in London.

The surprise of the "Incredible India" campaign is not limited to India though. The whole globe has witnessed enormous growth. The surge of prosperity has rapidly increased the global middle class. In fact, by 2030, the global middle class is estimated to double in size. By 2022 the world will for the first time move from being mostly poor to mostly middle class.

Asian countries especially are predicted to witness an increase in their respective middle classes. Experts say that they will constitute as much as two-thirds of the global middle class within the coming decades. This could likely shift the balance of economic power from West to East. To illustrate this, a study completely recently found that in a mere seven years China has gone from buying one General Motors vehicle for every ten sold in the US to becoming the largest customer. Their middle class ranges from 157 million to more than 800 million (second only to the US) and drives consumption allowing for the 15 percent growth rate in retail sales that China has witnessed.

There has not been a surge like this since the Industrial Revolution! The global dynamic is changing as the developing world moves forward. Brazil has increased its minimum wage and India has reduced tax rates to boost incomes. Foreign investment has been giving more people salary jobs, which is driving the demand for consumer retail, health and education in many countries. Companies are beginning to sell into emerging markets and are innovating to create market growth. China, India and Brazil are projected to compete with the worlds top five economies by 2050.

This story of upward mobility is a global story. Today's explosion of the global middle class has spurred an increase in economic, political and personal freedom and has created new opportunities for local entrepreneurs and multinationals.

-Gabrielle Gurian

SOURCE: MSNBC NEWS