Trade-offs

Heather Mallick rightly blasts the developed world's past trade policies toward Africa:

But the problem is not, and has never really been, aid. Cash helps temporarily. What crushes Africa are the trade policies of the rich nations. Africa is asked to open its markets to the massively subsidized goods of the rich, thus destroying their own agriculture and attempts at export. “Trade is the root of the problem,” the Make Poverty History campaign has told the BBC. But trade is not mentioned.

Fortunately, there is one error, as trade is on the table for at least some G8 countries:

Tony Blair will warn his European partners in the final two weeks before the crucial Gleneagles G8 summit that unless they dismantle the £30 billion Common Agricultural Policy, Africa will never free itself from poverty.

The acrimonious stand-off in Brussels last week over the cost of the CAP was a signal of Britain's determination to push farm subsidy reform to the top of the agenda.

There's no excuse for Canada not to be Britain's strongest backer on the issue, and preferably taking a lead role in trying to win U.S. approval. For Canada alone among G8 states, the idea of eliminating farm subsidies is a winner both internationally and domestically (since the same EU and US subsidies that hurt Third World farmers also do somewhat less damage to our own). If our leadership can just focus a bit more carefully, there's chance to do some real good.