Θανατηφόρα εμπόδια, ελεύθερο εμπόριο και ο Bush!

* 6,600 people die every day in the world because of the trading rules of the EU. That is 275 people every hour.

* In other words, one person dies every 13 seconds somewhere in the world - mainly in Africa - because the European Union does not act on trade as it talks.

* If Africa could increase its share of world trade by just one per cent, it would earn an additional £49 billion a year. This would be enough to lift 128 million people out of extreme poverty. The EU's trade barriers are directly responsible for Africa's inability to increase its trade and thus for keeping Africa in poverty.

* If the poorest countries as a whole could increase their share of world exports by five per cent, that would generate £248 billion or $350 billion, raising millions more out of extreme poverty.
- Trade Barriers Kill (2003)

Ο προστατευτισμός δεν βλάπτει μονάχα τους ανθρώπους στις αναπτυσσόμενες χώρες αλλά και τους πολίτες των χωρών που τον εφαρμόζουν.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, EU protectionism deprives developing countries of nearly $700 billion in export income a year. That's almost 14 times more than poor countries receive in foreign aid. EU protectionism is a continuing tragedy, causing unnecessary hunger and disease. The Cold War "iron curtain" between East and West has been replaced with a customs curtain between North and South.

EU protectionism takes a toll on Europeans, too. The rich countries' protectionism costs their citizens almost $1 billion every day. At that rate, you could fly all the cows in the OECD, 60 million of them, around the world every year in business class. In addition, the cows could be given almost $3,000 each in pocket money to spend in tax-free shops during their stopovers. - American and European Protectionism is Killing Poor Countries and Their People (2003)

Ο πρόεδρος των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών στην γενική συνέλευση του ΟΗΕ στην Νέα Υόρκη, παραδόξως , πρότεινε την εξάλειψη των επιδοτήσεων και όλων των εμποδίων που κρατάν τις αναπτυσσόμενες χώρες στην φτώχια. Το θέμα είναι όμως θα δεχθούν πρόεδροι όπως ο Chirac κάτι τέτοιο;

Today, I reiterate the challenge I have made before: We must work together in the Doha negotiations to eliminate agricultural subsidies that distort trade and stunt development, and to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to open markets for farmers around the world. Today I broaden the challenge by making this pledge: The United States is ready to eliminate all tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to free flow of goods and services as other nations do the same. This is key to overcoming poverty in the world´s poorest nations. - George W Bush (2005)