A new report from the Fairtrade Foundation
Read about the wall of subsidies preventing the world’s poorest cotton farmers from making a living.
Cotton is the most used natural fibre in the world and should be the ‘white gold’ that propels ten million West African farmers out of poverty. But the West African cotton industry is being obstructed by a wall of subsidies dished out by the United States and European Union to their own farmers.
Combined, the US and EU have spent $32bn on their cotton farmers over the past nine years. The effect is to dampen down cotton prices for West African farmers, restricting their ability to trade their way out of poverty and so perpetuating reliance on aid. Including China and India, a total of $47bn has been paid in subsidies to cotton farmers since 2001.
With an average GDP per capita of $637, and among the least developed countries on earth, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali (known as the Cotton-4 or C-4) rely on cotton more than any other commodity for their export revenues. These countries produce cotton more cheaply than anywhere else – a competitive advantage that logically should place them in a prime position to benefit from the world’s ever increasing desire for cotton products.
But Secretary of State for Trade, Vince Cable, states that the C-4 have lost a total of $250m each year through the price dampening effect of US and EU subsidies. The C-4 nations were seen as the quintessential example of grievous trade injustice when in 2001, world superpowers started negotiations to frame new global trade rules. In the shadow of 9/11, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) launched the so-called Doha Development Round ostensibly in order to help poor countries access world markets. But as we enter the tenth year of Doha negotiations, the Great Cotton Stitch-Up shows little has been achieved to help the C-4 trade their way out of poverty.
The Great Cotton Stitch-Up outlines in detail how US and EU subsidies have had a devastating effect on cotton farmers in West Africa and how the C-4 brought this issue to the WTO but have yet to reach an agreement, under a system where some countries continue to be more equal than others. It explains that cotton subsidy reform hinges on the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the US Farm Bill, both of which are under review over the next two years.
The launch of this report marks the start of a campaign to demand that the EU scraps its cotton subsidies - please join us in that call by emailing Caroline Spelman, Minister of State for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, asking her to act now on CAP reform and begin the process of bringing justice to West African cotton farmers.
Download the full report
Take action
- One easy action you can take to send an email to get the UK government to take action to ensure that trade benefits the poorest cotton farmers.
- Lobby your MEPs to support the campaign and end unfair EU cotton subsidies. Download the Learn to speak European guide and a template letter here.
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