Letter for Mr. Bush

Dear President Bush,

On December 13th, over 148 nations will meet in Hong Kong for negotiations that have the power to transform millions of lives through fairer trade. On the table will be proposals to change the rules so trade becomes part of the solution to poverty, not the cause. We urge you to take advantage of these meetings to forge an historic partnership to help Africa and the poorest nations overcome global AIDS and extreme poverty by making trade fair.

Because:

* ONE billion people around the world live on less than ONE dollar a day;
* Fair trade has the potential to lift millions of people out of poverty;
* Americans are uniting as ONE across political and religious divides, supporting a commitment to work with other countries to overcome the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.

We urge you to direct your Administration's trade representatives to:

* Ensure the needs of the world's poorest people are kept at the forefront of WTO Doha trade negotiations;
* Open up developed country markets to products from poor countries and eliminate agricultural subsidies that cause overproduction and commodity dumping on global markets;
* Give developing countries the power to decide their own trade policies, through a democratic and transparent process;
* Offer meaningful assistance and training to increase poor countries' capacity to take advantage of new opportunities and earn the resources needed to fight poverty.

As Americans, we believe that hard work and using the opportunities given to us can make better lives for ourselves and our children. These trade negotiations are an opportunity for developed nations to keep their promises and demonstrate bold leadership by changing global trade rules to level the playing field for developing countries, giving people tools so trade can help lift them out of poverty—lifting up their own communities, their countries and eventually the global economy

....

Make Proverty History
member of ONE[dot]ORG