Title: For free trade instead of agricultural subsidies

Submitted by: D66 and NEOS

The Congress of Liberal International, convened in Dakar, on 30th November 2018

Bearing in mind that

– LI passed a resolution for effective, coordinated and results-oriented development cooperation at the Congress in Abidjan in 2012.

Recognising that

– We have a common responsibility as members of LI to uphold the principles of freedom and free trade as well as human rights and the rule of law at the global level,

– sustainable growth and economic freedom are impossible on a global level if free trade is only conducted as a one-way road, where OECD member states’ markets are closed off due to non-tariff barriers to trade and at the same time, agricultural exports from these countries are often heavily subsidised,

– market-distorting subsidies and non-tariff barriers to trade instituted by these OECD members states, most notably the USA and the EU, still constitute a major barrier to free trade in a global level.

Considering that

– The EU is still spending one third of its budget on agricultural subsidies, that is 375 out of 1279 billion Euros in the period 2021-2027, limiting chances for improving livelihoods in many developing countries,

– the negative impact of agricultural subsidies is further increased by the fact that the agricultural sector is one of the largest employers in many developing countries.

Noting that

– The EU has admitted in 2017 that there is a clear link between agricultural subsidies and root causes of migration in its report on the future of agriculture,

– terrorist organisations are recruiting former farmers in certain West African countries, who join not out of conviction but out of desperation.

Calls upon all LI members

– To encourage free trade and oppose market-distorting subsidies and non-tariff barriers to trade wherever possible.