Are you a Priority Change Denier?

While a cynic might argue that these concessions have been provided only because LDCs make up only 0.5% of world trade and therefore impact very little on domestic industry, these programs have delivered tangible benefits to their beneficiaries. An international agreement on removing all trade restrictions on LDCs would be particularly helpful in providing sustainable export markets for LDCs.

The World Bank’s central goal is to alleviate poverty, and its research finds that funding of agricultural development typically delivers 2-4 times the poverty alleviation of other projects. LDCs typically lack capital, and where this can be provided have the ability to create viable international agricultural industries that can comply with even strict health regulations. In the late 1990s new EU regulations effectively shut down the lucrative Bangladeshi shrimp industry, but following capital injections to upgrade facilities exports eventually returned to prior levels.

A redirection of World Bank funding towards viable agricultural projects would provide the best value for money in terms of alleviating poverty

This brings us to the question of priorities. No serious economist would suggest that the current levels of protectionism advance the interests of anyone but the direct beneficiaries (usually large scale farmers in developed countries). Despite this, nations impose tariffs that raise the price of food for consumers and increase poverty. Loud demands from lobbyists are prioritised over the interests of consumers, with subsidies raising taxes, poverty and inefficient allocation of resources.

Countless UN and pressure group conferences have been held on an enormous variety of other topics, such as global warming, but few on the far more immediate and larger burden of extreme poverty.

 The damage caused by agricultural protectionism is as clear as the solutions that actually make the average person better off. We should start with the politically plausible step of an international agreement guaranteeing quota and duty free trade for LDCs while continuing to campaign for freer trade more broadly.

There is no reason why the radical anti-development left should hold a virtual monopoly on protests and public pressure campaigns. It’s high time the silent majority sound their voices and demand trade liberalisation as an economic and moral necessity.

The facts are clear: we just need a change in priorities. Will you advance the cause of poverty alleviation through support for trade liberalisation or are you a priority change denier?