This type of free trade on "equal grounds- has the lesser-developed nations in the ACP fearing that they will not be able to compete. Free trade leads to small time farmers sometimes putting more of their money into the production of food and in the end losing money at the end of the season. .
Banana farmers in the Caribbean work in mostly small family-run farms and for them to work under these conditions is almost impossible. For the smaller-scale farms that have to work by these standards do end up working for more then they get in return. This is just more money in the big companies pockets. In the banana trade for example, three major multinationals Del Monte, Chiquita and Dole control two thirds of world trade. There dominance is built on the exploitation of workers from other developing countries. In these regions there are already enough poor and hungry. Agreements like these put farmers out of jobs forcing them to move into more industrialized urban areas in search of other work. .
Most countries, however, recognize that agriculture, which is wildly subject to changes of weather, is not like other industries. Having secure food supplies, for example, is more important than having a steady supply of automobiles or portable CD players. Agricultural practices also have a big impact on natural environments and the social fabric of society, even in societies where farm populations have shrunk. And many small, poor countries are dependent on one or a few agricultural products for their export earnings, which was one of many reasons the WTO talked about establishing distinct .
rules to help developing nations.
But there seems to be no resolution to this problem. The U.S. and European agricultural policies seem to just cause trouble for those lesser developing countries that don't open their markets to encourage dumping, that is selling goods below the cost of production. Dumping may be related to the existence of domestic subsidy programs, but it isn't the same thing.
