the tyranny of free trade wasted natural wealth and lost livelihoods

The report examines how trade liberalization, specifically through the WTO's Doha Round and NAMA negotiations, facilitates the privatization of natural resources and harms marginalized populations. It provides case studies on the depletion of fisheries in the Philippines and Seychelles, deforestation in Indonesia and Central America, and the impact of industrial pig farming and soy expansion in Denmark and Argentina. The document advocates for food and energy sovereignty and the recognition of water as a human right over a tradable commodity.

• The WTO's Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) negotiations propose eliminating tariffs on forest products, fish, gems, precious metals, primary aluminum, and oil, which the report claims could lead to increased resource exploitation and the loss of livelihoods for millions of small-scale fishers and forestry workers.
• Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreements are identified as a threat to biodiversity and human health by promoting the patenting of life forms and traditional knowledge, which prevents indigenous peoples and farmers from accessing traditional seeds and medicines.
• In Indonesia, the rate of deforestation is accelerating, with 2.8 million hectares lost per year, driven in part by the expansion of export-oriented agriculture and forest product trade.
• The report highlights a 'resource curse' in the mining sector, where liberalization in countries like Ghana and the Philippines leads to severe environmental degradation and social conflict while most profits are repatriated by foreign owners.
• Industrial pig production in Denmark drives the expansion of soy monocultures in Latin America, which causes soil erosion, deforestation in the Amazon, and the forced eviction of small farmers and indigenous communities in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
• Trade liberalization in the fisheries sector has negatively impacted the Philippines, where tariffs were slashed from 30 percent to 5 percent, leading to resource depletion and the loss of livelihoods for an estimated 20% of small and medium-scale commercial fishers.
• The report argues that trade agreements can undermine climate change mitigation by restricting the policy space for governments to implement national greenhouse gas emission reductions or promote sustainable domestic industries.
• Water is increasingly treated as an 'economic good' rather than a human right, with the report citing the privatization of water in Togo and the successful popular vote in Uruguay in 2004 to establish water as a basic human right.
• In Colombia, the privatization of energy services starting in 1998 led to electricity price increases of up to 500 percent and the loss of 1,750 jobs.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2005). the tyranny of free trade wasted natural wealth and lost livelihoods. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/tyranny.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. the tyranny of free trade wasted natural wealth and lost livelihoods. 2005. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/tyranny.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=the tyranny of free trade wasted natural wealth and lost livelihoods |date=December 2005 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/tyranny.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2005tyranny, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{the tyranny of free trade wasted natural wealth and lost livelihoods}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2005}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/tyranny.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }