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The EU’s
Raw Material Grab
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I’ve sent the action card to my MEP(s) named
Kenya’s leather industry has benefited from government intervention in recent years, creating thousands of jobs in the country. But this is now under threat, with the EU trying to get easier and cheaper access to developing countries’ raw materials.
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European Parliament Rue Wiertz 60 B 1047 Brussels
MEP
“A tannery in Kenya that is threatened by the EU’s Raw Materials Initiative”
I lost my job in the tanneries in the 1990’s (when the industry was liberalised). Employment was down then and, when I eventually found a job, it was only as a casual labourer. I earned very little. Now I’m back full-time. Joseph Njugauna, a skilled worker in Kenya
Despite this success, the EU is still calling for major restrictions on the use of export taxes in Kenya and elsewhere, for all raw materials such as hides, ores from mining and wood from deforestation.
The leather sector in Kenya is just one example of how a poorer country can achieve benefits for its people when it has the freedom
to choose its own approach to managing raw materials.
In a drive to secure cheap access to all raw materials (metals, wood, raw hides etc), the EU is using trade and investment deals to prevent developing countries from using measures like this and force them to open up to European companies before they are ready. This aggressive new ‘resource grab’ is preventing developing countries from creating jobs, building up businesses and raising valuable revenue. It could be especially devastating in resource-rich countries in Africa and South America. Foreign companies operating in resource-rich countries should be accountable for the social and environmental impacts of their actions. Developing countries should have the right to manage their raw materials for the benefit of their people and the environment. We are calling for the EU to put a responsible approach to raw materials at the heart of EU trade and investment policy.
SPEAK, with Traidcraft and a coalition of campaigners across Europe, is calling on the EU to let poorer countries: - manage their raw materials and exports in the public interest - negotiate investment agreements in line with their social, economic and environmental needs.
www.speak.org.uk/rawmaterialgrab
Action Points
1) Send the below postcard to your Members of European Parliament (MEPs) 2) Come to Soundcheck, the national gathering of the SPEAK Network, to get further equipped and trained to campaign on this issue 3) Visit www.speak.org.uk/rawmaterialgrab for further actions, such as meeting your MEP or organising a prayer night about the campaign 4) Visit www.traidcraftshop.co.uk to buy goods that haven’t profited from exploitation
You have increased the number of your merchants till they are more than the stars of the sky, but like locusts they strip the land and fly away Nahum 3:16 • Thank God for the amazing world we live in, and pray that we can be responsible stewards of Creation, not putting excessive demands on its materials • Thank God for the jobs created and the resources provided by processing industries, especially in poorer countries • Pray for those in the UK, in Europe and across the world working in such industries, for job security but also true security in God • Pray for the world’s leaders, that they would be guided by His justice above national interest or private gain
PRAYER Points
The government of Kenya has placed export taxes on raw hides and skins in recent years. This has helped to keep the raw materials in the country, boosting the Kenyan leather industry. And it’s clearly worked – since these export taxes were introduced the number of tanneries has increased, 7,000 new jobs have been created, and the sector’s earnings have gone up by almost €8 million.
You can find out who your MEPs are by visiting www.europarl.europa.eu/members.do You have several MEPs for the region in which you live. Where possible it would be great if you could send a postcard to each of them. However if you have limited time, please just pick one. Please let us know that you’ve done this by sending the card overleaf to us.
Dear ................................................MEP, Many of the world’s poorest countries are rich in valuable raw materials that, if managed well, can create jobs, develop businesses and raise vital income. But the European Union is actively pushing trade and investment policies on countries that will deny them the right to choose economic policies that would ensure their raw materials are used to benefit their people and safeguard the environment. Please ask the European Commission to: - Withdraw demands from all trade negotiations that would prevent developing countries using export taxes to protect their raw materials and raise revenue. - Transform its position on investment to allow developing countries to regulate foreign investment and companies in the public interest. - Call for an international process to address how to manage raw materials in a fair and sustainable way and promote responsible consumption.
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Name Address SPEAK is a network of students and young adults praying and campaigning on issues of global injustice. Through bringing change to situations of injustice, we aim to share our faith in our all loving, all powerful creator God. SPEAK, The Crypt, Northchurch Terrace, London, N1 4DA. Tel: 020 7249 4309 Email: speak@speak.org.uk Web: www.speak.org.uk