Alternatives from the Global South to EU commodity and trade policy

With its Raw Materials Initiative published in 2008, the European Commission is pursuing an aggressive, one-sided course geared towards security of supply: Environmental and development interests, the fight against poverty and human rights are in danger of being neglected.

A wide range of debates on alternatives are taking place at local, regional and international level. Actors from civil society, but also from parts of politics, have developed proposals and approaches on how the population can participate in and benefit more from raw material deposits and how human rights and environmental protection can come first.

The case studies compiled in this report show the resistance encountered by European raw materials and trade policy and the opposing voices and positive approaches in the Global South.

Contents

Transparency and alternatives in Africa's resource trade - A reaction to the EU's raw materials policy. By Dr. Claude Kabemba

Mining, people and the environment - The impact of the EU-India free trade agreement. By Chandra Bhushan and Sugandh Juneja

Transitions to Post-Extractivism in Latin America - A Response to the EU's Raw Materials Initiative. By Carlos Aguilar

Published by Oxfam Deutschland e.V., WEED e.V., Attac, Brot für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst, SÜDWIND e.V., Fall 2012.