The Argument On Economic Integration

Before going into the argument on economic integration, I think it is very important to first of all understand the definition of the concept. According to wikipedia, economic integration is “the unification of economic policies between different states through the partial or full abolition of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on trade taking place among them prior to their integration”. When this topic comes to mind, it brings into hindsight terms like free trade, globalisation, import, export and trading without borders which are major topics in the WTO.

It is the intention of the members of the World Trade Organization, especially their more developed member countries, to export as much as possible to their poorer less-sophisticated undereducated co-member countries. Therefore, they create rules that encourage their own export and minimize imports especially of goods that pose a threat to their own markets. This is especially prominent in the food and agriculture industry. There are globalization restraints that restrict the livelihood of farmers. I personally don’t think this is a fair way to approach issues in these industries. To me, this is just another way for the rich to prey on the poor. Hilary French raised an interesting example in her book; she states that the concept of the Green Revolution entails a rule that prohibits farmers from saving their seeds for the next planting season. Although the indigenous people felt that patenting seeds that are obviously a free gift of nature is theft, corporations made it a legal offence when farmers went against these rules. What that means is that the farmers have to buy prepackaged, preservative and pesticide filled seeds every year from corporations every planting season in ...

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...re an attractive and lucrative business for future generations. Trade agreements need to be one hundred percent fair to both parties and we need to encourage the local farmers in our communities. Local farmers are barely staying afloat in developing countries because there isn’t enough subsidy provided for them. And this is the industry must people in these countries rely on. Philip Legrain states that countries like Japan, Germany, Britain and South Korea are losing their farmers because they aren’t earning enough by simply staying in the business. Western countries gain all the benefits of the laws set by the organization and in my opinion, that is unfair. The change we ae looking for starts now from us and our daily economic decisions. Because everyday we get to vote for what to purchase and the more we purchase ethical produce, the better for the world at large.