Perspectives towards a more just raw material trade
Raw materials are becoming increasingly important in the EU’s trade policy. The European energy transition, defense industry, and technology sector depend on these materials. However, raw material extraction is an extremely polluting process from which only a tiny elite profits. The energy transition risks falling into the traps of the old economy: staggering inequality based on an unsustainable growth paradigm.
What could be the role of the trade justice movement in creating a more just trade in raw materials? The trade justice movement has several ideas to challenge the status quo. Degrowth is often seen as a way to escape an unsustainable and profit-driven economic logic. Industrial policies can help developing countries move up the value chain or create better working conditions.
These ideas can also be in contrast to one another, however. Industrial policies that move developing countries up the value chain can create massive environmental pollution, as has been seen in Indonesia. Conversely, a form of degrowth in Europe could hinder developing countries from moving up the value chain by reducing the bargaining power they have because they possess raw materials. Also, industrial policies could lead to better working conditions in the countries that adopt them, but make market access more difficult for the Global South. Similarly, resistance against mining projects in the EU could increase pressure on the Global South.
During the conference, we want to explore whether these tensions can be overcome and attempt to create perspectives towards a more just trade in raw materials, and what sort of trade policy would contribute to this more just trade?
Program
10.30 Arrival
11.00 - 13.30 Opening Panel
13.30 - 14.30 Lunch
14.30 - 16.00 Workshops. Three different workshops are held in parallel.
16.00 - 17.00 Closing panel
17.00 Drinks
Opening panel
Three speakers will introduce topics related to the raw material trade. Olaf Tolk will first publish the results of a Handel Anders! report. The report argues that the CRMA has introduced a form of industrial policy, but one that is problematic because it doesn’t include economic reform.
Rachmi Hertanti will be the next speaker. Hertanti has studied industrial policy in Indonesia related to nickel extraction, which has created development but has also led to enormous environmental pollution. Furthermore, Indonesia is currently negotiating a trade deal with the European Union. What will be the impact of this trade deal on Indonesia and on its raw material policies?
The last speaker is not yet confirmed.
Workshops
Workshop 1: Industrial policy, always national or room for internationalism?
Industrial policies can be designed to create better economic conditions in the countries where they are implemented. Examples are the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US, in which working rights are a requirement for getting government finance. The IRA creates trade barriers for other countries, hindering development in the Global South. Can an industrial policy also be internationalist and target development in both the Global North and South? What could be the role for trade policy?
Workshop 2: Development strategies for Global South countries, value addition beyond raw materials.
The green energy transition is leading to a “rush” for raw materials. Extraction often leads to enormous pollution and human rights violations and often does not lead to sustainable development in the exporting countries. Some countries, like Indonesia, are trying to break away from this pattern by adopting industrial policies. Indonesia’s industrial policy has also led to enormous environmental pollution, however. Can an industrial policy be a useful instrument for degrowth objectives?
Workshop 3: Raw materials and the trade movement. Who are our allies and how can we organize?
Trade movements like the European Trade Justice Coalition have traditionally targeted trade and investment policies by mobilizing people against them. Often, the key goal was to mobilize people in Europe in particular. Trade movements emphasized how trade deals would grant power to multinationals, allow for easier export of finished and high-tech goods out of the EU to third countries, and allow for the import of toxic food or environmentally harmful raw materials. The raw material trade is linked with the energy transition, making it more complicated for the trade movement to mobilize people. What could be the narrative of the European trade movement in this context? And who are the potential allies we have yet to connect with?
**Closing panel **
During the closing panel, we want to discuss what we will take with us from the discussions towards the future. How can we approach the issue of raw materials from a just trade perspective? What are common themes? What are our goals and how can we achieve them?
Practical information
Registration
Where: Treve 9V40, European Parliament, Rue Belliard 73, Brussels
When: 23rd of September, 10:30 - 17:00
Working language: English
Target audience: Representatives of European civil society organisations, researchers, students, journalists, MEP’s and assistants, and public officials
Organizers: Handel Anders! coalition, supported by the European Trade Justice Coalition