CONTENT

1. CONTENT • TRADE INSTRUMENTS AND FRAMEWORKS WORK TOWARDS WTO OBJECTIVES • REACTIONS TO PRO-TRADE ARGUMENTS • SOME TRADE AGREEMENTS • IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION • DIFFERENTIATED IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION ON WOMEN AND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY • Income effects • Health and Morbidity • Capabilities

2. ARGUMENTS FOR TRADE LIBERALIZATIONY=C+G+I+(X-M) • Trade accelerates overall economic growth, which raises profits and promotes greater savings and investment and thus further growth • It promotes competition, improves ressources allocation and fosters specialization in sectors where countires have comparative advantage (best suited to produce) • Trade enlarges a country ’s access to scarce resources and its consumption capacities • It increases world output • It provides access to worlwide markets for poor countries • It tends to promote greater competiton, attracts foreign capital, technology and expertise into developing countries • Trade generates very needed foreign exchange to pay for debt or imports

3. TRADE INSTRUMENTS AND FRAMEWORKS WORK TOWARDS WTO OBJECTIVES HIPC Liberalization reforms of financial and labor sectors Reforming goods and services markets Privatization programmes WTO More trade and Fosters trade liberalization among nations Sets contracts binding nations to keep their trade policies within agreed limits COTONOU AGREEMENT Trade liberalization not Aid less social justice Establishes dispute settlement measures promoting freer trade AGOA More benefits for large foreign and multinational investors Endorsement of privatization Rights of foreign investors to establish in any African country without conditionality Obligation to cut corporate taxes and to apply same rules to foreign investors Monitors countries appliance to trade rules and citizen rights

4. REACTIONS TO PRO-TRADE ARGUMENTS • Development cannot be measured only in terms of growth • Non market activities which are excluded in model play a determinant role than cannot be neglected in favor of market-focussed trade • Gender factors in terms of differentiated positions and power relations between women and men within and outside different markets (labor, financial and goods and services) arenas are totally excluded from the model • Gender impacts of trade offset the anticipated benefits from trade (increased gender inequalities, and women’s insecurity)

5. REACTIONS TO PRO-TRADE ARGUMENTS • Trickle down effect of growth gains from trade is a myth not a reality in developing countries • Limited growth of world demand for primary goods exports because of developed countries demand shift from high technology and skills intensive products • Secular deteriorating terms of trade against developing nations • Increased sophisticated “protectionism” from developed countries against developing countries manufactured and processed agricultural products

6. SOME TRADE AGREEMENTS • Agriculture: sale of transgenetic seeds, dependency on chemicals seeds, processing and sale of food; vulnerability of women small farmers and food producers and processors; land issues; production costs; no protection for food security; reduction and elimination of subsidies. New and very complex system of subsidies. • General Agreement on Tariffs and Services (GATS): 160 sectors involved; health, education, debt servicing,culture, telecommunications, banks, etc, all human livelihoods and security-related sectors; privatization of public services and submission to market and competition laws. Rights to education health, culture, positive discrimination for girls’ education...; Privatization of land, water endangering women’s livelihood and security.

7. Foreign banks IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION Foreign Sector Exports revenues Cheap labor for little wages Imports payments Gendered redistribution of labor Private Sector Households Consumer demand initiatives Consumer goods Credit Credit Household savings Investment savings Government Privatization Taxes from households Financial Institutions Investments Taxes from firms private sector Borrowing Repaying of provision of Government Government in foreign services social services

8. DIFFERENTIATED IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION ON WOMEN AND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY 1.Income effects • New job opportunities More women than men accessing new jobs mostly low standard jobs • Marginal increase revenues • Threat to poor women’s small businesses • Competition between cheap imported good and locally produced commodities • Comodification of Utilities and public goods (water, energy, land, etc.) • Increased costs of utilities (production or consumption good) • Increased time devoted to provide household services and utilities

9. 2.Health and Morbidity • Women’s access to labor market impact on girls household work servicing • Increased morbidity, health insecurity • increased expenditure and on health provisioning • New private sector ande labor lead to reduced access to health benefits and social protection • Food insecurity impacts from exports promotion (from market access to nutritional level or calorie intake)

10. 3.Capabilities • Less rights, participation, security, etc. • Women’s unpaid more devalued work devalued with increased focus on markets • Enterprise development threatened because of unleveled competition field • Access to use of ICT • Increased organizing capacities • Increased opportunities for learning

11. NETWORK OF AFRICAN WOMEN ECONOMISTS National budgets HIPC Directory of organisations NETWORKING Trade agreements Case studies Networks WICEJ IWGGT WIDE, etc RESEARCH PRSPs Regional institutions ADVOCACY Civil society organisations Partners IGTN GERA AAWORD Etc. Bibliography AWE • Ministries • Finance • Budget • Women • Planning Indicators and statistics Data collection Women’s groups Parliamentarians CAPACITY BUILDING Training workshops Needs assessment Training materials TOT

12. MACRO-ECONOMIC POLICY FRAMEWORK