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Trade or aid? When it comes to global markets, there are only a few Asian countries that are getting a piece of the action. These countries include established manufacturing or business giants like Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, as well as emerging economic powers like India and China. But what about countries with an agricultural economy, whose fortunes and hopes were once built on international crops like rubber, tea and coffee? Many have been squeezed out of global trade through international import tariffs, or have seen the prices of raw goods plummet. Profits from factories and businesses have disappeared into large private corporations, often foreign-owned. In Papua New Guinea, families are sometimes forced to sell a years’ crop of coffee for less than it cost them to grow it. In Bangladesh, garment workers are exploited by harsh conditions and low wages in factories or ‘sweatshops’, because that is all that’s available. Until things change, no matter how hard some people work to earn a living, they will earn neither a fair income nor the opportunity to leave poverty behind. Trade and aid work together Support from international markets is needed to allow developing countries fairer access to trade opportunities. But those countries also need to be in control, from community to national level, of their economic policies. They need to decide for themselves who to trade with, what in, and what is a fair price. To benefit from trade, poor countries also need the infrastructure and conditions to support it. They need to set up strong legal systems that protect businesses and workers. They need ports, roads and airports for efficient export of goods. Supplying this infrastructure is a crucial part of economic development strategy, often funded through overseas aid agencies. World Vision helps at a community level by creating community-based businesses and co-operatives and advising on market opportunities. By looking after the needs and rights of children in developing communities, they’re also building a healthy, skilled and empowered workforce for the future, giving them a real chance to break away from poverty forever.
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