Americans Prefer Trade Over Aid in Fight Against Global Poverty 7/12/2004
From: John J. Audley, senior fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States, 202-468-0165 or jaudley@gmfus.org WASHINGTON, July 12 -- A new transatlantic public opinion survey on trade and poverty, commissioned by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, shows that Americans want more trade, but also more protection, a situation that challenges international efforts to use trade as a tool to promote poverty reduction in developing countries. Survey findings point to solutions for policy makers interested in broadening support for free trade. Given the importance of both trade and poverty-alleviation policies, in April 2004, GMF commissioned the first comprehensive study of public opinion on Trade and Poverty Reduction in four of the countries where anti-globalization protests have been most vociferous and whose governments are key to making progress on trade liberalization. Support for free trade remains robust. Majorities in the United States, Britain, France, and Germany want "more trade agreements" and support trade over aid as a more effective tool for reducing poverty. Three out of four respondents believe that international trade contributes to economic growth in developing countries and creates extra economic growth and prosperity around the world. The survey also found that while free trade is popular, the instruments through which it is delivered -- the EU internal market and NAFTA -- are not. Forty-three percent of American respondents support the "free flow of people, goods, and services" between the US, Canada, and Mexico, but only 4 percent support NAFTA. One of the strongest messages respondents voiced was a desire, shared by 92 percent, for more education to help them cope with dislocations caused by globalization. Policymakers have an opportunity to broaden support for new trade agreements if they address this and other concerns regarding workers, the environment, transparency, and developing countries. Key Findings: -- Americans are less favorable toward further international trade deals than Europeans. A high proportion of Europeans -- 82 percent of French and 83 percent of British -- want more international trade agreements, compared to just 54 percent in the US. -- Two out of three respondents believe that trade is better than aid for helping developing countries: Seventy-four percent of Germans, 71 percent of British, 68 percent of Americans and 53 percent of French prefer trade to aid. -- Americans are less supportive of development aid than the French, British, or Germans: Support for development assistance runs deepest in Britain, with 44 percent strongly in favor, 19 percentage points higher than the average score of the remaining three countries. Conversely, the strongest opposition to development assistance is found in the United States: 27 percent oppose aid, with 10 percent strongly opposed -- twice as many as in the other countries. Only 21 percent of Americans strongly favor assistance. -- Multinational companies seen as primary beneficiaries of global trade: More than half (56 percent) of respondents feel that multinational corporations benefit most from trade. The numbers are particularly high in France (65 percent), Germany (62 percent) and the US (53 percent). Slightly less than half of the British respondents (43 percent) see multinationals as the prime beneficiaries. -- Europeans overwhelmingly believe Senator Kerry would be better at promoting economic growth and prosperity than President Bush. Nearly 3 out of 4 Europeans prefer Kerry to Bush on this subject, Americans prefer Kerry to Bush by a slim margin 41 to 36 percent. -- The jury of public opinion remains out on the WTO: Forty-two percent of Americans surveyed have a favorable opinion of the World Trade Organization (WTO), while 29 percent view it unfavorably. An equal number have no opinion of the WTO. A similar situation exists in Great Britain and Germany. Only in France, where the demonstrations against the WTO have been most angry, is public opinion decidedly against the WTO. Conclusions: -- After nearly a decade with NAFTA, the European internal market, and the World Trade Organization, it is no longer automatically accepted that deeper economic ties will increase prosperity, at home, or in developing countries. It is important for future trade negotiators and their publicity machines to be honest about the pros and cons of trade. -- Greater support for future trade deals depends on convincing the public that small businesses stand to gain. -- The public responds well to arguments that these countries should be gradually exposed to the global market. Seventy-five percent of respondents support special measures for developing countries, such as tariff barriers and protection of property rights; 68 percent believe that trade rules should be adjusted to allow developing countries to buy life-saving medicines at prices they can afford. -- People want to see trade agreements that reflect their faith in democracy and transparency in governance. Government officials must heed this concern and shine more light on the functioning of trade institutions. The full survey report can be found on GMF's web site at http://www.gmfus.org. ------ The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is an American grantmaking and public policy institution founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany in honor of post-war Marshall Plan assistance. GMF's mission is to promote the exchange of ideas and cooperation between the United States and Europe in the spirit of the Marshall Plan. GMF gives grants for the study of international and domestic policies, sponsors fellowships that support comparative research, and promotes activities that strengthen broad understanding of transatlantic issues and perspectives. |