Global civil society statement on Trump’s trade threats

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Trump is using tariffs and trade threats to bully other countries in order to maintain US global power. Even though existing trade rules were shaped by US corporations, recently this hasn’t been enough to guarantee US dominance, so Trump is turning to brute force. To do so, he has exploited working people’s real frustrations with the current trading system to forcibly remake the international economy in the interests of US big business.

We call on governments to stop appeasing Trump. We call for civil society groups to join together with us in pushing for resistance and creating a better world.

The trade justice movement has spent many decades fighting existing trade rules, free trade agreements and institutions like the World Trade Organization that prioritize “the market” above all other goals. We were right. Current trade rules have destroyed decent jobs, damaged the planet, fueled the climate crisis and undermined vital public services. The promise that a rising tide would lift all boats has been a lie: the benefits have been delivered to the wealthy and the largest corporations, while inequality has grown and local businesses have lost out.

Global trade rules systematically harm countries in the global South. These rules routinely overlook the development needs of these nations, denying them the very strategies that powered today’s rich countries—an all-too-familiar case of ‘kicking away the ladder.’ Meanwhile, major powers, and in particular the US, double down on measures that disadvantage developing economies. The poorest nations are, as a result, locked into exporting extractives and low value goods, unable to diversify or build resilient, dynamic economies.

We are currently witnessing a move toward fascism and among the driving factors behind this are current trade rules. Too often people whose jobs and communities have been destroyed in the name of ‘free trade’ have been told that there is no alternative to the current trading system and have been given no acknowledgement of its problems. Yet what Trump proposes is not a solution but a leap out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Trump’s demands are a ‘might is right’ free for all, which further the interests of the richest in the world at the expense of the overwhelming majority of humanity and our environment. His clamour for other countries to change national laws and policies to suit US corporate interests hollows out democracy and makes a sham of sovereignty. Underneath the chaos there is a consistency to his demands:

  • Burn more fossil fuels, torpedoing climate policy
  • Spend public money on the military and US weapons, rather than public services
  • Abandon any attempt to limit the power of Big Tech
  • Lower standards on food and agriculture, threatening peoples’ health
  • Grant privileged access for US companies to strip communities of mineral resources
  • Give sweetheart business deals to Trump and his billionaire cronies

Governments should not appease Trump’s bullying – giving in has only made him more recalcitrant. In particular, when the most economically powerful countries capitulate this leaves others in the firing line. Instead countries should develop a strategy of cooperation to resist. Making individual deals has already cost too much, encouraging the bully to come back and demand more, hitting countries with higher tariffs and economic coercion anyway regardless of the sacrifices made.

This is not the time to go back to the status quo, but to chart a new path forward. Rather than scrambling for individual deals or reacting in isolation to Trump’s diktats, countries should unite to build a fairer, development-focused global trade system—one that resists the downward spiral of division, bullying and exploitation. Trump’s very actions have shown how hollow free trade agreements and WTO rules are, and this is an opportunity to step out of their straitjacket. As authoritarian figures like Trump increasingly disregard international law, leaders should not rush to the defense of trade rules that are not fit for purpose, especially for the global South. Ultimately we can only defeat Trump and fascism by creating an international economy able to meet the needs of humanity and ensure a liveable planet. This includes:

  • Use of tariffs and other trade tools to support development and strategic, targeted industrial policy, particularly in developing countries, but never as a means to extort changes in a sovereign country’s domestic policy
  • Respecting the principle of special and differential treatment in favour of developing and least developed countries as a cornerstone in international trade rules
  • Prioritising climate and biodiversity goals within and above trade objectives
  • Prioritising human rights and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, especially the right to free, prior and informed consent, within and above trade objectives
  • Promoting food sovereignty and agroecological practices, including high animal welfare standards and living incomes for farmers
  • Promoting workers’ rights, living wages, decent work and policies to pursue full employment
  • Promoting investment in public services
  • Ensuring resource justice for developing countries, especially around ‘critical’ minerals
  • Effective regulation of corporations, including on the digital economy, AI, monopolization, and financial markets
  • Ensuring trade policy supports, and does not undermine, debt cancellation, tax justice and improved aid
  • Getting rid of secretive corporate tribunals (formally known as ISDS or ICS)
  • Getting rid of trade provisions that limit access to medicines
  • Developing trade policy in an open, transparent and democratic manner

At this moment trade is on the table for real debate—and we can’t let this chance slip away. As demagogues try to turn our anger against each other, we need every movement resisting. The old neoliberal policies are failing and this is our moment to connect the dots and combine our struggles. Climate activists, migrant rights organisers, farmers and rural communities fighting corporate land grabs, feminist, anti-fascist and anti-genocide movements, unions, young people demanding a future—we’re all fighting the same beast. It’s time to unite our movements and build the power we need to win a world that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few.

Signatories

Global & regional

  1. Amigos de la Tierra América Latina y el Caribe (ATALC)
  2. bilaterals.org
  3. Climate Action Network Europe
  4. Climate Action Network Latin America (CANLA)
  5. Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS)
  6. European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC)
  7. European Environmental Bureau
  8. European Trade Justice Coalition
  9. Friends of the Earth Europe
  10. Friends of the Earth International
  11. Health Global Access Project
  12. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
  13. Plataforma América Latina y el Caribe mejor sin TLC
  14. Public Services International (PSI)
  15. Red Latinoamericana por Justicia Económica, Social y Climática LATINDADD
  16. Tax Justice Network
  17. Third World Network
  18. Transnational Institute
  19. Women In Development Europe+ (WIDE+)

National

  1. Asamblea Argentina mejor sin TLC, Argentina
  2. ATTAC Argentina, Argentina
  3. Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, Australia
  4. Catholics in Coalition for Justice and Peace, Australia
  5. Combined Retired Union Members Association (CRUMA), Australia
  6. GeneEthics, Australia
  7. New South Wales Retired Teachers Association, Australia
  8. Presentation Sisters Wagga Wagga , Australia
  9. Public Health Association of Australia, Australia
  10. Sydney Peace & Justice Coalition, Australia
  11. Attac Austria, Austria
  12. GLOBAL 2000, Austria
  13. Informationsgruppe Lateinamerika (IGLA), Austria
  14. ÖBV – Via Campesina Austria, Austria
  15. WIDE (Austria) – Network for Women´s Rights and Feminist Perspectives in Development, Austria
  16. Anders Handeln, Austria
  17. Nagorik Uddyog, Bangladesh
  18. Centre tricontinental – CETRI, Belgium
  19. CNCD-11.11.11, Belgium
  20. Entraide & Fraternité, Belgium
  21. Fair Trade Advocacy Office, Belgium
  22. Humundi, Belgium
  23. Le Réseau des GASAP asbl, Belgium
  24. FONASC, Brazil
  25. Inesc – Instituto de Estudos Socioeconômicos, Brazil
  26. REBRIP – Rede Brasileira pela Integração dos Povos, Brazil
  27. UNAS, Brazil
  28. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada
  29. Coalition Québec meilleure mine, Canada
  30. Common Frontiers, Canada
  31. MiningWatch Canada, Canada
  32. Trade Justice Network, Canada
  33. Chile Mejor sin TLC, Chile
  34. Comisión Nacional de Enlace CNE, Costa Rica
  35. Estonian Green Movement – FoE Estonia, Estonia
  36. Amis de la Terre France / Friends of the Earth France, France
  37. Attac France, France
  38. Andy Gheorghiu Consulting, Germany
  39. Attac Germany, Germany
  40. Netzwerk gerechter Welthandel, Germany
  41. PowerShift e.V., Germany
  42. Rettet den Regenwald / Rainforest Rescue, Germany
  43. Umweltinstitut München e.V., Germany
  44. Zukunftsrat Hamburg, Germany
  45. Naturefriends Greece, Greece
  46. Aceh Wetland Forum, Indonesia
  47. Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), Indonesia
  48. Puanifesto, Indonesia
  49. Sahita Institute (Hints), Indonesia
  50. Fairwatch, Italy
  51. Wote Youth Development Projects CBO, Kenya
  52. Mouvement Ecologique, Luxembourg
  53. Mouvement Ecologique asbl (FoE Luxembourg), Luxemburg
  54. Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth), Malaysia
  55. GEGAR (Gerakan Gabungan Anti-Imperialist Movement Coalition), Malaysia / Southeast Asia
  56. Centro de Promoción y Educación Profesional “Vasco de Quiroga”, México
  57. DECA, Equipo Pueblo, México
  58. Iniciativas para el Desarrollo de la Mujer Oaxaqueña (IDEMO), México
  59. Otros Mundos Chiapas/Amigos de la Tierra México, México
  60. Agriculture Coalition for Just Trade, Netherlands
  61. Handel Anders, Netherlands
  62. Platform Aarde Boer Consument, Netherlands
  63. Stichting Boerengroep, Netherlands
  64. Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa, New Zealand / Aotearoa
  65. Peace Action Wellington, New Zealand / Aotearoa
  66. Toitū Te Tiriti, New Zealand / Aotearoa
  67. Handelskampanjen, Norway
  68. Spire, Norway
  69. Tierra libre instituto social y ambiental, Paraguay
  70. IBON Foundation, Philippines
  71. Sigaw ng Kabataan Coalition, Philippines
  72. GEOTA – Grupo de Estudos de Ordenamento do Território e Ambiente, Portugal
  73. TROCA – Plataforma por um Comércio Internacional Justo, Portugal
  74. ZERO – Associação Sistema Terrestre Sustentável, Portugal
  75. Ecosol coop. consumo agroecológico, Spain
  76. SETEM Catalunya, Spain
  77. ATTAC España, Spain
  78. CGT – Confederación General del Trabajo, Spain
  79. Ongd AFRICANDO, Spain
  80. Public Eye, Switzerland
  81. Association for Proper Internet Governance, Switzerland
  82. Debt Justice, United Kingdom
  83. Global Justice Now, United Kingdom
  84. PAN UK, United Kingdom
  85. Trade Justice Movement, United Kingdom
  86. War on Want, United Kingdom
  87. REDES-Amigos de la Tierra Uruguay, Uruguay
  88. 198 methods, USA
  89. American Friends Service Committee, USA
  90. Climate Justice Alliance, USA
  91. For a Better Bayou, USA
  92. Friends of the Earth US, USA
  93. Global Exchange, USA
  94. Oakland Institute, USA
  95. Public Citizen, USA
  96. NatureWize Vietnam, Vietnam

Photo by Dave Lowe on Unsplash

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