Fair Trade and the Fight Against Poverty

In a recent report, Rigged Rules and Double Standards: Trade, Globalization, and the Fight Against Poverty, Oxfam Senior Policy Advisor Kevin Watkins argues that "world trade has the potential to act as a powerful motor for the reduction of poverty, as well as for economic growth, but that potential is being lost…. Trade can realize its full potential only if rich and poor countries alike take action to redistribute opportunities in favor of the poor. This requires action at the national level, new forms of international cooperation, and a new architecture of global governance at the WTO."

Watkins will share his views on how to make trade work for the world’s poor during an afternoon presentation at the Carnegie Endowment. Commenting on his presentation will be:

• Grant D. Aldonas, Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade;
• Her Excellency Edith Grace Ssempala, Ugandan Ambassador to the United States; and
• Judith A. Chambers, Vice President for International Governmental Affairs, Monsanto Co.

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