08/12/2005
- He's not reaping the benefits of "Free Trade."
He's being poisoned by what we throw away.
Hong Kong, China — A child sits in a mountain of electronic
waste, covered in toxic chemicals, pulling apart components
to retrieve tiny bits of metal; this is the face of free
trade your government does not want you to see. As trade
ministers from around the world arrive in Hong Kong for
the World Trade Organization (WTO) summit, they claim that
free trade is good for you. You will excuse this child if
he disagrees.
Hong Kong is not just the place where trade ministers attend
receptions. Hong Kong is also a 'freeport' for the world's
electronic waste. China is quickly becoming the world's
trash bin. As much as 4,000 tonnes of toxic e-waste is discarded
every hour.
Many electronic products are routinely, and often illegally,
shipped from Europe, Japan and the US to China. Dumping
them there is cheaper than taking proper care of them at
home.
Because our mobile phones, computers and other electronic
products are made using toxic ingredients, workers at yards
such as in Guiyu, China, risk exposure when they break the
products apart by hand, under appalling conditions. Guiyu
is where this boy is sitting. This is what "free trade"
looks like.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle vs More, Faster, Cheaper
Governments at the WTO meeting aim to eliminate tariffs
on electronic goods as part of the funnily named NAMA negotiations.
NAMA stands for Non Agricultural Market Access. Most products
you see in the shops are covered by these negotiations.
Free trade in electronic goods will result in more electronic
goods being traded. Sadly, as long as effective social and
environmental regulations are missing, this will lead to
even more electronic waste being dumped in scrap-yards such
as Guiyu.
According to its preamble, the WTO exists "to protect
and preserve the environment" and to achieve "the
optimal use of the world's resources".
Big words. But in reality, the WTO forces countries to compete
to trade more. As a result, the use of natural resources
is spiralling upwards. One fifth of global oil consumption
is used just to move goods around the world. And trade negotiators
continue to ignore the environment. This is true for electronic
goods and the waste they will inevitably become.
Can't see the forest?
It is most shameful in the case of forests - another "product"
covered by the NAMA negotiations.
The European Union asked a respected university to conduct
a "sustainability impact assessment" of trade
liberalization on forests. As we long suspected, the study
shows, that trade liberalization fuels the destruction of
the world's last remaining ancient forests. Sadly, the researchers
appear to have wasted their time. Governments, unwilling
to admit unpalatable truths, still aim to move forward with
the NAMA negotiations in Hong Kong.
To this, Greenpeace says: STOP. Governments must halt the
NAMA negotiations. Plans for liberalization of vital environmental
assets, such as forests, must be abandoned. We must force
governments to admit the real face of free trade and stop
our waste being dumped on children in Guiyu.
Want to learn more? Read the
weblog of the Greenpeace team in Hong Kong
Find out Greenpeace's position on the Meeting
Read Greenpeace's report "Trading away the last ancient
forests" |
