Social justice advocates argue a defining characteristic of the globalization era that began in the 1980s is an international trade environment that promotes a “race to the bottom.”
Some of the developing countries that have been subject to this pressure are now huge economies that have much more power to shape their relationships with western countries and companies.
This has turned the tables because autocratic regimes can effectively pressure their western trading partners to ignore human rights and environmental records, which means we are in an era where trade depends on our apathy.
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For instance, it’s been widely reported that more than a million Uighurs and Muslim minorities have been forced into “political camps” in China’s Xinjiang province to cleanse them of their ethnic identity.
A group called Citizen Power Initiatives for China recently released a report titled “Cotton: The Fabric Full of Lies,” which alleges inmates in these camps are being forced to provide labour for cotton production in the region.
Western leaders have been silent on these forced labour camps.
This is because China punishes trading partners that meddle in its domestic affairs, and it’s not the only country that uses this playbook.
Canada’s relationship with the Philippines rapidly deteriorated after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought up the country’s brutal war on drugs, as did our relationship with Saudi Arabia when Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland condemned the country’s crackdowns on civil rights activists.
With U.S. President Donald Trump taking the U.S. away from coherent international policies, Canada is forced to re-evaluate its place in the world, and this is best done through our trading relationships.
You can argue that if we don’t trade with brutal regimes, other countries with poor environment and labour standards will. Our list of trading partners will be very small if we demand trading partners meet certain ethical standards.
We have to draw a line somewhere when it comes to the practices our trade supports, but our apathy also needs to be competitive.
Now, Canada draws its line beyond dealing with a regime that enslaves citizens based on their religious beliefs.
Unfortunately, our economic growth depends on it.
