Fair Trade’s intervention at the European Economic and Social Committee on new “Trade for All” Communication

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a public hearing on 18 January 2016 with the Civil Society in view of the preparation of the EESC opinion on the European Commission (EC) Communication “Trade for All – Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy“.

The hearing was an opportunity for the EESC to take up the considerations of the Civil Society in the view of its opinion on the Communication. In this sense the comments were diversified on the basis of the sector in which the speakers are operating. However, some common points came out as, the need of a more comprehensive analysis for Africa’s development (Jonhatan Peel [EESC] and Arnaud Petit [COPACOGECA]), almost never cited in the Communication, the attention towards human rights cited as “values” and not “rights” and in particular the violations of human and labour rights in Corea (Liina Carr [ETUC] and Gaelle Dusepulchre [FIDH]). Another thorny issue addressed was the one of transparency of FTAs negotiations, many underlined the lack of transparency in the EU-Japan negotiations (Carr and the audience). Finally, it has been pointed out by Peel that no reference is made to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Fair Trade Advocacy Office’s (FTAO) Alice Sinigaglia held a presentation on the paragraph of the Communication related to Fair and Equitable Trade. After having presented the work of the FTAO she addressed the overall structure of the provisions of the Communication, highlighting the positive aspects, but also pointing out at some shadows and weak points of the text.
Positive aspects include: Addressing Fair and Ethical Trade more systematically, promoting it and the creation of market data collectors of Fair and Ethical Trade products, developing awareness raising activities and possibly launch an “EU City for Fair and Ethical Trade” award.

But also

• The attention towards supply chains (CSR initiatives and due diligence across the production chain, International principles on responsible supply chain management etc.)
• Increased transparency of the trade and investment policy

While weak aspects consist in:

Promoting responsible supply chain management

• Global supply chains vs local production
• Imbalances of power in the supply chain
• Textile supply chain: cotton farmers are the often-forgotten actors in the fashion and textile supply chains

Promoting sustainable development through trade

• Link between trade and gender
• The cultural, environmental and human rights dimension of agriculture
• The potential social and environmental cost of liberalisation
• The impact of EU trade on third countries