Blair: globalisation comes from the bottom up

By William Danzek | 15 December 2005

Tony Blair gave a speech last month that had some really good points. He said:

Occasionally we debate globalisation as if it were something imposed by Governments or business on unwilling people. Wrong. It is the individual decisions of millions of people that is creating and driving globalisation. Globalisation isn't something done to us. It is something we are, consciously or unconsciously doing to and for ourselves.

...There are some who argue that the poor will lose from an ambitious liberalising round. Far better to continue to offer them preferences - an old form of welfare. In one sense they are right. In the short term they may loose from some changes to the preference system if we do not take other actions. But ultimately the preference system is not the way forward. They stand to gain far more if we are bold; if we are confident; if we are ambitious.

Developing countries could gain $47 billion in increased agricultural exports.

We know the current system of preferences is not helping Africa. African trade with the EU has fallen over thirty years under the Lome and Cotonou Preferences. We also do not give enough market access to larger developing countries including countries like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa who are not LDCs. Yet the blunt reality is that it is they who will drive African economic recovery.

And most of the world's poor live in India and China. They will benefit from an ambitious trade deal too.