CTC reports that trade negotiators from throughout the Pacific Rim are meeting in Texas for a critical summit aimed at rushing the TPP toward completion.  The pact is reportedly already 75% complete, with some 26 separate chapters that will likely affect jobs, wages, agriculture, migration, consumer safety, the environment, financial regulations, internet freedom, access to medicine, indigenous rights, public procurement and more in our communities and throughout the world.

More at CTC post on TPP summit

Around 50 people representing some of the Fair Trade movement held a summit April 30 – May 2, 2012, in Minneapolis. Important dialogue & learning progressed among diverse stakeholders, including certifiers/standard setters (Fairtrade International – via Fairtrade Canada representative), Fair Trade USA, IMO Fair for Life, Agricultural Justice Project) who participated in just the final day. Many of the stakeholders had never met, communicated, or even known much about each other’s organizations. Valuable relationships were established or strengthened between people/organizations. The Council as yet did not achieve any of its 4 stated goals. Members identified a little common ground, but mostly discussed key issues and how the movement might resolve them. A working group was formed to propose by June next steps for dialogue and action. The Council intends to publish for the public details of its discussions and progress by June, and ways additional stakeholders can engage or join in coming months.

Regarding the 4 stated goals:

• Define Fair Trade and the movement, what they are and what they are not – members didn’t clarify common ground, but did gain more understanding of topics like domestic Fair Trade, large-scale agriculture/plantations, and what the movement could collaborate on.
• Organize the North American Fair Trade movement under a coordinated infrastructure with a common vision – very little progress, so there remains a critical opportunity to organize ongoing communication across the movement.
• Reach agreement on a plan for cooperation and accountability within the movement – this was the goal with the most progress, as members agreed on an agenda (currently 30 items) for more work, and advanced thinking a lot on many issues. It seems like commitment is there to carry some of this work to meaningful results in coming months.
• Develop a clear external message for the movement- members decided this was lower priority, so postponed work until the Council (and perhaps others) progresses on other goals first.

More details, and future updates at N. America Fair Trade Stakeholder Council

More at FTT Winter Park

FTRN created the contest since no awards existed to honor organizations across all major Fair Trade recognitions. Winners will be celebrated during World Fair Trade Day in May!

More at “Best in Fair Trade” Award winners

More at FTT Claremont story

1. Kerstin Lindgren, Domestic Fair Trade Association, Executive Director
2. Jonathan Rosenthal, Just Works Consulting, Partner (and Co-Founder of Equal Exchange)

See more details below.

Register for Webinar #122

Outline of Webinar #122:

May 7, 1:00-1:50pm Eastern time: How Should, or Shouldn’t, Fair Trade Be Applied to Producers in Developed Countries?

Panelists:

1. Kerstin Lindgren, Domestic Fair Trade Association, Executive Director
2. Jonathan Rosenthal, Just Works Consulting, Partner (and Co-Founder of Equal Exchange)

Moderator:

FTRN’s Executive Director, Jeff Goldman

Level: Intermediate

Outline:

· Welcome

Jeff (2 min)

· Opening remarks

Kerstin (5 min)

Jonathan (5 min)

· Audience Questions for the Panelist (34 min)

Participants will text comments and questions to moderator, who will speak them

· Closing Remarks

Kerstin (1 min)

Jonathan (1 min)

· Closing Announcements

Jeff (2 min)

Register for Webinar #122

FTRN created the contest since no awards existed to honor organizations across all major Fair Trade recognitions. Winners will be celebrated during World Fair Trade Day in May!

More at “Best in Fair Trade” Award finalists

MarketPlace: Handwork of India was a founding member of FTF, and has worked with artisan cooperatives in India for over 25 years.  www.marketplaceindia.com

Level Ground Trading offers coffee, dried fruit, and sugar direct from small farmer cooperatives in six countries.  www.levelground.com

Ayindisa is a retailer working directly with artisan groups in Ghana. More at their store in Ridgefield, CT, or online at  www.ayindisa.com

Kamibashi is a wholesaler of handmade products, working with artisans in Thailand who create a quirky, distinctive line of toys, bags, and more.  www.kamibashi.com

Some key statistics include:

• Community development premium payments due to U.S. imports reached a new high of $22 million in 2010, an increase of 50% from 2010. 77% of the total came from coffee sales.
• The number of producer organizations exporting to any country has increased 17%, to 1030 from 878. 54% operated in Latin America, 31% in Africa, and 14% in Asia.
• A record 138 million pounds of FTC coffee were imported into the United States, a 32% increase over 2010. Imports from 8 countries (Peru, Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Mexico & Brazil) comprised 87%.
• FTC imports for several food categories showed high growth over 2010: Cocoa (156%), Produce/Bananas(40%), Coffee (32%), Sugar (31%), Tea (21%). Imports for vanilla/spices (2%), and flowers (0%) were about the same. Imports for Honey (-64%), Wine (-43%) & Rice/Quinoa (-26%), decreased.
• More than 11,000 Fair Trade Certified products are now available in over 60,000 U.S. retail locations, both up from around 9500 FTC products and 60,000 locations last year.
• New FTC products available in 2011 were cucumbers, bell peppers, and apparel/linens.
• Fazenda Nossa Senhora de Fatima, a 100% organic farm in Brazil, has become the world’s first FTC coffee estate (with hired workers).

Lots more data on product imports, premium payments, countries of origin, U.S. business partners, producer groups and change rates in the Fair Trade USA 2011 Almanac.

Download FREE Power Point file

To edit the Power Point file, users need a password from the associated booklet (print or PDF version), “An Overview of  Fair Trade in N. America.”
Updated April 2012 – Power Point presentation of An Overview of Fair Trade in N. America. The file is free to download and view. 37 slides are shown in a 7-minute show, free to open as Read-Only file, size 8.8 MB. Get a copy of the associated booklet, or PDF file, to access the password (at the bottom the Table of Contents) to edit and copy the Power Point file. Please attribute proper credit to FTRN and others if you create a new file. The presentation is also available as a PDF file.