After the fall of World War II, a series of trade regimes were created to re-ignite trade in the world and prevent an economic depression like the Great Depression which occurred directly before the Second World War. A few of these trade regimes include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which would later become the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank. The WTO’s goal is to eliminate or discourage tariffs in order to promote international trade as tariffs tend to discourage trade between countries. The International Monetary Fund was created to prevent another depression that devastated the interwar years. Finally, the World Bank was established to loan money in order to help rebuild developing countries’ economies. All in all, the goals and purposes of these trade regimes seem to reflect the good that humanity was ready to return to the world after two devastating world wars and a record-low economic depression. However, as we will see, these regimes have been proven to be much more incompetent than they were made out to be.
The first to be looked at is the World Trade Organization. The WTO’s goals are to eliminate tariffs and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Although WTO has, in some ways, successfully reduced tariffs placed on countries via negotiations of mainly tangible goods such as agricultural crops, they’ve failed largely on reducing the wealth gap. This is simply because the system the WTO is placed under benefits the wealthy nations. The impoverished countries or LDCs in general have much less negotiation powers and rich countries are able to maintain high import duties on certain products, thus blocking the import of goods from these countries. In addition, the WTO has largely ignored the working conditions of laborers in developing countries. As these countries continue oppressed on a downwards spiral, they employ cheap workers to produce goods at a lower price in order to maximize their profits, one that continues to be undermined by developed countries. The WTO ignores these human rights atrocities and only focuses on trade. The trade system inherently benefits the wealthy as it would in turn benefit the organization itself, and forces the LDCs to utilize despicable methods.
The IMF and World Bank also have their flaws that again benefit the wealthy countries and continue to suppress the poor with its policies. For one thing, the IMF’s main purpose is to prevent future economic crisis from happening and it has clearly failed largely to do so against the 2008 economic recession that happened when the world allowed the wealthy, corporate, moral sell-outs in Wall Street to try to make themselves wealthy in the expense of the rest of the world. In addition, both countries loan the poor to help them develop, especially the World Bank as its purpose is to help rebuild developing countries from destructive natural disasters or turmoil of any sort. However, their policies are focused on making money for both themselves and the wealthy countries. For example, after the 1973 oil crisis, the LDCs were in deep debt for loaning money in order to help reboot their economies. Thus, these two corporations gladly lent money to them but by setting strict policies that changed their government budget. They forced these countries to lessen their funding on medical care and education in order to return loans to the wealthy countries and themselves. This left much of the developing world in serious debt and no way to return from it as their population continues to be devastated with diseases and uneducated citizens.
Thus, in conclusion, the trade regimes are not one of reciprocity in which “You scratch my back, and I scratch yours”. No. Instead, it is one of, “I say, you obey”. This is dominance at its worst. Wealthy countries that these trade regimes get their money from manipulate the policies placed on developing countries to keep them oppressed while they make filthy money out of the bloods and tears of the poor farmers via tariffs and debt policies. The international system of trade is one of dominance, where the wealthy countries take advantage of the poor. They find exert their authority and empower themselves while also draining the life out of the poor Less Developed Countries.
The first to be looked at is the World Trade Organization. The WTO’s goals are to eliminate tariffs and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Although WTO has, in some ways, successfully reduced tariffs placed on countries via negotiations of mainly tangible goods such as agricultural crops, they’ve failed largely on reducing the wealth gap. This is simply because the system the WTO is placed under benefits the wealthy nations. The impoverished countries or LDCs in general have much less negotiation powers and rich countries are able to maintain high import duties on certain products, thus blocking the import of goods from these countries. In addition, the WTO has largely ignored the working conditions of laborers in developing countries. As these countries continue oppressed on a downwards spiral, they employ cheap workers to produce goods at a lower price in order to maximize their profits, one that continues to be undermined by developed countries. The WTO ignores these human rights atrocities and only focuses on trade. The trade system inherently benefits the wealthy as it would in turn benefit the organization itself, and forces the LDCs to utilize despicable methods.
The IMF and World Bank also have their flaws that again benefit the wealthy countries and continue to suppress the poor with its policies. For one thing, the IMF’s main purpose is to prevent future economic crisis from happening and it has clearly failed largely to do so against the 2008 economic recession that happened when the world allowed the wealthy, corporate, moral sell-outs in Wall Street to try to make themselves wealthy in the expense of the rest of the world. In addition, both countries loan the poor to help them develop, especially the World Bank as its purpose is to help rebuild developing countries from destructive natural disasters or turmoil of any sort. However, their policies are focused on making money for both themselves and the wealthy countries. For example, after the 1973 oil crisis, the LDCs were in deep debt for loaning money in order to help reboot their economies. Thus, these two corporations gladly lent money to them but by setting strict policies that changed their government budget. They forced these countries to lessen their funding on medical care and education in order to return loans to the wealthy countries and themselves. This left much of the developing world in serious debt and no way to return from it as their population continues to be devastated with diseases and uneducated citizens.
Thus, in conclusion, the trade regimes are not one of reciprocity in which “You scratch my back, and I scratch yours”. No. Instead, it is one of, “I say, you obey”. This is dominance at its worst. Wealthy countries that these trade regimes get their money from manipulate the policies placed on developing countries to keep them oppressed while they make filthy money out of the bloods and tears of the poor farmers via tariffs and debt policies. The international system of trade is one of dominance, where the wealthy countries take advantage of the poor. They find exert their authority and empower themselves while also draining the life out of the poor Less Developed Countries.