Both ENDS
Since President Trump's trade war and tariffs, international trade has once again been thrust into the spotlight. In Europe and the Netherlands, there are growing calls for new free trade agreements to be concluded as quickly as possible, as reflected in recent opinions in FD and de Volkskrant. But that is the wrong reflex, writes our colleague Marius Troost.
The currently negotiated Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the US and the EU (TTIP) is higly controversial and has ignited the public debate about the costs and benefits of globalisation to society at large. In the Netherlands, concerns are raised on transparency, the growing power of big companies and the consequences for the environment. But how should we view TTIP in the bigger picture around global free trade, the relation between the North and the South and the geopolitical dynamics behind free trade agreements? Yash Tandon addresses this and related subjects in his new book 'Trade is War – The West’s War Against the World', which he will present on the 3rd of June in Amsterdam.
On the 11th of December at 19:00 hrs. in Bajesdorp in Amsterdam, Burghard Ilge from Both ENDS will give an introduction to the documentary 'This is what Democracy looks like' by Jill Friedberg and Rick Rowley (2007). Afterwards there is room for debate. This is one of the many films shown during the free alternative documentary film festival Bajesdoc, held on diverse locations in Amsterdam from 8-11 December.
CSO reject EU policy reform that would legalize EU trade sanctions against developing countries, based on their migration policies. An important trade and development policy tool of the EU is the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP), which allows developing countries to export goods to the EU at low or no tariffs. The current GSP Regulation is to expire end of this year.
The first Voedsel Anders (Food Otherwise) conference in February 2014 was visited by more than 800 people. And that literally gave everyone the taste for more! So this year, the second Voedsel Anders conference is to be held. The conference is the initiative of the Voedsel Anders movement, which consists of organisations and active citizens who are engaged in a different way in changing the food system and making it sustainable. Karin van Boxtel from Both ENDS is involved in organising the conference.
"My idea of 'good' is that people can make decisions about their own development; that they are able to decide what happens to their environment. That we all respect the boundaries of our ecosystems and that women, just like men, are able to develop in the way that they want". Daniëlle Hirsch is responding to a question from the audience where she just gave a lecture on her views for a future sustainable economy.
