How to do Trade with Developing Countries - A normative Examination on how the European Union contributes to Deprivations in Developing Countries and what this entails for its Conduct of Trade
Summary
In this thesis I examine in what way the European Union (EU) contributes to deprivations in developing countries in its conduct of trade. Based on this examination, I test the stringency of duties that follow from these contributions in order to identify what kind of trading scheme should be adopted when the EU trades with developing countries.
For the purpose of this examination, I present two distinctively different actions of trade in which the EU is involved. This is (1) the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and (2) the EU’s involvement in contributions of harm undertaken by European Multinational Enterprises in Developing Countries.
I apply Barry’s and Øverland’s tripartite distinction of doing-allowing-enabling harm to these actions in order to classify the EU’s harm contributions. This taxonomy does not prove to be sufficient when applied to the EU. Hence, I add two more categories: Allowing in Authority and Benefiting from Harm. This further shows that Barry and Øverland are not correct in assuming that affluent actors solely contribute to deprivations in developing countries by enabling harm. This recognition is of great importance since it leads Barry and Øverland to believe that there exist less stringent moral reasons to address these hardships compared to cases in which harm was done. Although this is correct, I show that Barry and Øverland are wrong in arguing that this would allow us to adopt a trading scheme which includes subsidies and tariffs. Based on the additional categories I present, I demonstrate that there follow stringent duties for the EU to address the deprivations to which the EU contributed in its conduct of trade. This requires the EU to adopt a trading scheme that does not result in such deprivations. Moreover, I show that this further generates duties to compensate developing countries for experienced disadvantages so that a trading scheme with preferential treatment of developing countries should be considered.