The name is absent

14

4. Distributive Equity and Market Access

Does fairness demand that equality of opportunity in market access be modified, in some degree, to
satisfy distributive equity? There are at least two grounds for supporting this position.

One derives from a sense of moral obligation to the poor. The great disparity in levels of living
among countries and the very large numbers of people living in extreme poverty have convinced many
that the governments of rich countries have a responsibility to assist the poor countries in alleviating their
poverty. The most visible expression of this obligation is the provision of aid. But since foreign trade is
widely seen to play a part in economic betterment, it is identified as another means of pursuing the same
end.

It can also be argued that equality in market access will not be realized so long as some countries
are unable to take advantages of the opportunities created by negotiations. The global trading system
presupposes the operation of freely competitive markets in which firms in the participating countries
respond to new opportunities. But a number of poor countries do not yet have such well functioning
markets and merit favorable treatment to strengthen their capacity to exploit new opportunities.⁸

But what does distributive equity mean in the context of the global trading system? It is familiarly
associated with the redistribution of income or wealth, but that clearly does not apply here. Though some
Third World advocates argued otherwise in past decades, the trading system today is not seen as a vehicle
for resource transfers. It is an arrangement for promoting commercial relations among firms and
individuals in different countries that are expected to be mutually advantageous. In our view, distributive
equity only acquires meaning in this context if the trading system contributes to accelerating the
economic development of the poorer countries. This may be accomplished in one, or both, of two ways.

⁸ Wealthy countries may, of course, have other motives for assistance to developing countries. They may want to
promote development in order to limit uncontrolled immigration across borders, or to combat terrorism, or, more
broadly, to exercise political influence. But these do not raise the issue of distributive equity.

<<   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   >>

More intriguing information