IFG Programs: Trade & Finance

IFG PROGRAMS: TRADE & FINANCE

	TRANSFORMING GLOBAL RULE-MAKING IFG continues its leadership within civil society’s efforts to democratize the rules governing the international flows of capital, goods, services, technology, and peoples, and to re-localize economies. We bring new voices to the debate, identify key issues that must not be ignored, offer analyses that unify networks in order to address issues collaboratively, and seize opportunities to put universal rights above trade liberalization. IFG originated from civil society’s efforts to influence the outcomes of free trade agreements in the 1990s, and today remains engaged in frontline efforts to replace today’s world trade rules so they reflect universal values. The failure of the current model which favors corporations and investors, and the increasing numbers of popular elected officials in the US and in many other countries coming to power to change international economic institutions, are combining to create unprecedented possibilities for important change in global trade and finance rules. The WTO is paralyzed and it is hard to see how anything moves forward without rethinking mandates. Financial crises certainly remain the primary focus of governments and solving the problems requires serious new tools to democratically control capital movements worldwide. All changes should be guided by the universal values enshrined in the UN’s toolbox of international instruments. We will continue to collaborate with civil society groups everywhere, especially the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network, in order to engage community voices in global rule-making to ecologize our economies.

•	Reducing the Powers of World Trade Organization over Energy and Climate Policies IFG regularly works with OWINFS to reduce the powers of current world trade rules over energy and climate policies. We also advocate for increased “policy space” for local and national communities to enact measures via their governments to secure energy supplies that are socially stable and ecologically sustainable. IFG’s ground-breaking work to expose the Halliburton Corporation’s agenda in the WTO Energy Services negotiations of the Doha Round of world trade talks helped shape the positions of key governments. As a result, several energy exporting nations refused to deregulate foreign investment in their gas and oil sectors, while others even withdrew their participation in the official talks. Taking advantage of the trust IFG has already built with key governments, and of the new policy context of trade, in 2009 we will “push back” on trade liberalization by supporting efforts to adopt policies that shift to safe and secure energy supplies.
•	Consultation with the Funders Network on Trade and Globalization IFG is advising an important initiative of the Funders Network on Trade and Globalization (FNTG): to create a “map” of the current dominant global economic architecture and ongoing civil society efforts to change it. FNTG's goal in this process is to inform and improve the allocation of funds by foundations through creating a better understanding amongst FNTG’s members of: 1) the “alphabet soup” of institutions governing the global economy; 2) which civil society organizations are effectively working to address those institutions; and 3) which foundations are supporting those groups. To date, IFG’s Victor Menotti has participated in two FNTG planning meetings for this process (January and April 2008). At those meetings, participants began to conceptualize possible approaches, identify key questions, and explore the various institutions involved and how they relate to one another. Menotti has also assisted FNTG to identify a computer programming specialist who specializes in creating visual representations that can facilitate learning about complex systems, processes, and relationships. Menotti and the specialist have already met several times with FNTG staff in order to input research and information that will be the basis of the map. Menotti (together with supporting IFG program and research staff and interns) will continue to be on retainer throughout 2009 to help FNTG shape this inquiry.