With the expiration of the Multi With the expiration of the Multi With the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement’s (MFA) textile quota system in Arrangement’s (MFA) textile quota system in Arrangement’s (MFA) textile quota system in 2005, all textile 2005, all textile-producing nations face new challenges, as up to 60% of post challenges, as up to 60% of post-quota global textile production will likely move to China. For the Central American nations, even with the new trade preferences provided by the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), they would certainly lose a portion of their production market share to their dominant competitor.
Some garment manufacturers and industry-dependent nations sought to compete with China and India by tapping a market niche driven by large, reputation risk averse retailers from the US and EU seeking to protect their brands from the tarnishing accusations of sweatshop abuse and corporate social irresponsibility. Recent studies and practical experiences indicate that if a country’s garment sector is competitive in price, quality, speed to market and innovation, then “brand security”—in the form of verifiable labor rights compliance—becomes a significant factor in corporate sourcing decisions.
The Central America Labor Rights Project project sought to promote market-driven social responsibility as part of an industrial growth strategy in nations where garment production is critical to export growth, starting with Guatemala. The project was not designed to advocate the implementation of any particular model in Central America, rather the project sought to introduce the Central American stakeholders to various tools developed in other parts of the world—including Bulgaria, Cambodia, Turkey and China—that helped the local industry meet the evolving compliance needs of international garment buyers.
With CAFTA’s ratification, the Central American garment industry faced a state of transition, as production consolidated and modernized. The GILCA partnership was designed to help the Salvadoran and Guatemalan industry seize the moment—to seek out and implement innovations that are important to large-scale garment buyers, and to modernize their compliance as well as their production—they could be well positioned to compete into the future.
After nearly nine months of multi-stakerholder discussions, the project facilitated an agreement between the Government of Guatemala, labor unions, and the textile producers that will enable Guatemala to estalish reliable, transparent, systems to verify compliance with national labor standards. Government officials fully implemented this proposal in 2007. GILCA partners then turned their attention to the country of El Salvador, where a similiar exercise will began in 2007.
The key to industrial growth based on this emergent market niche is verifiable, credible and cross-sectorally acceptable assurances of labor rights protection. There are various models in practice or under development in some garment producing nations which have already delivered increased employment, enhanced conditions and improved productivity in the garment sector. While likely not fully replicable, some of these models may have highly relevant applications to the nations of Central America.
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In 2004, working with key partners in U.S. civil society, multilateral institutions, and the academic community, GFI spearheaded a dialog around the simple notion that, since employment – jobs – is the single most important economic factor for the vast majority of the world’s population, widespread sustainable employment needs to be a part of the global development agenda. We believe that sustainable job creation – not wealth creation that leads to the creation of new jobs – should be central to globalization.
The Women’s Trade & Finance Council has been created to alleviate poverty by fostering greater inclusion of women’s productivity in global trade flows. The Council’s overarching objective is to influence trade and finance policies at the international and national levels. In addition, the Council seeks to cultivate North-South and South-South linkages that expand market and business opportunities, thereby contributing in measurable terms to sustainable livelihoods.
Originally conceptualized by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Reema Nanavaty of the Self Employed Women’s Association in India (SEWA), the Women’s Trade & Finance Council has been established by the Global Fairness Initiative (GFI) in partnership with Vital Voices Global Partnership. The Council is comprised of grassroots leaders, international businesswomen, policymakers and thought leaders, all of whom share a commitment to strengthening the role of women in the global economy. The Council also engages practitioners, policy experts, economists and others whose knowledge of gender and trade issues bolsters the credibility and efficacy of its work.
Given its composition, the Women’s Trade & Finance Council is uniquely positioned to pursue a dual-track approach to (1) leverage its high-impact capacity to influence global trade and finance policymakers, and (2) foster practical linkages that yield near-term business opportunities.
Through its convening power and access to international policymakers, Council members are well positioned to raise awareness about the gender aspects of international trade and finance, and to propose reforms that will promote sustainable livelihoods and strengthen developing economies. The Council is structured to examine and develop solutions to such practical issues as financing terms, market access barriers, production constraints and supply chain management challenges. In addition, the Council serves as a forum through which potential partners can pursue pioneering commercial opportunities and share best practices.
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Ukraine's remarkable "Orange Revolution" reversed a trend of corruption, repression and impunity familiar to many former Soviet republics, and has accelerated Ukraine's transition to a peaceful, transparent free market democracy. Integral to this process was the establishment of partnerships supporting Ukraines' full integration into Europe and the World.
Working with nongovernmental organizations in Europe, in 2003 GFI became a co-founder of “The Friends of Ukraine Network,” a network of organizations in support of Ukraine's new democracy. The Friends of Ukraine sponsored the February 2004 Conference in Kyiv and now work towards developing public policy, enhancing the public dialogue, supporting related scholarship, and educating world leaders and on Ukraine's present needs.
The Friends of Ukraine Network orchestrated important gains for Ukraine’s progress towards a democracy. It helped build Ukraine’s political culture by hosting for the first time in contemporary history political discussions between the two major presidential candidates (Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovich). At this meeting, senior government officials listened in public to criticism from both Ukrainian and foreign participant. Their work also strengthened support for continued democratic changes in the country, while conveying their trust to the democratic opposition. Finally, because it worked entirely in public settings, it enabled national and international media to more accurately report on the democratic changes underway in the Ukraine.
With the 2004 election in Ukraine and non-violent transition of power, Ukraine continued down the long path towards democracy. To continue on this path, GFI and the Friends of Ukraine Network will continue working towards the following objectives:
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Rarely do the forces of globalization allow individual nations the chance to decide their respective economic destiny. Yet with the opening of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline in May 2005, the people of Azerbaijan received a chance to mark their place in a competitive world.
From its inception, the BTC Pipeline project was a lightning rod of public attention and criticism. Civil society groups worldwide questioned the willingness of energy companies to agree to equitable distribution of the benefits from using Azerbaijan’s abundant energy resources. Decades of political repression compelled others to conclude that Azerbaijani government officials would be the only people to benefit. Still others cited repeated examples where energy-rich countries failed to prosper from the presence of extractive industries. It was clear that an open discussion on how to correctly manage the process of integration could provide a timely intellectual underpinning for the Azerbaijani people as they move forward in making important choices about their future.
In June 2005 GFI initiated the Azerbaijan Working Group to serve as an independent council of NGOs and think tanks bound together by common concern and impending focus. The Working Group consisted of the following members: The Global Fairness Initiative (GFI);the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), USA, The Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation (IEAC), Ukraine; The Aspen Institute Berlin, Germany, the French Institute for International Relations, the Community Housing Finance (CHF) Foundation, Baku; the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, Baku; The Centre for International Relations, Poland;Tesev, Turkey; IMI, Ukraine; and the INAM Center for Pluralism, Baku.
Through a series of meetings and conferences, the Azerbaijan Working Group engaged key stakeholders from various sectors and institutions to address Azerbaijan’s most pressing economic concerns in a comprehensive manner. Their work assessed the technical, economic, political and social aspects of Azerbaijan’s growth agenda. Guided by the intellectual output gained from these engagements, future Azerbaijan Working Group efforts will concentrate on the following areas:
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