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In September 2003 Trade Ministers from counties who are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) met in Cancún, Mexico to continue the trade negotiations. Wealthy countries wanted to give additional powers to the WTO itself and they also want to further liberalize global markets.
Many poor countries as well as non-government organisations (NGOs) and missionary groups from the North and South opposed to expanding this free-trade agenda. They were aware that trade could play a significant role in alleviating poverty for the 1.2 billion people who are forced to live on less than one dollar a day. But they argued that the present rules of trade, as enshrined in the WTO, actually benefit the rich and often undermine or destroy the livelihood of the poor and are wreaking havoc on the planet's ecosystems.
One issue is the tariffs on processed goods that are exported to wealthy nations by poorer ones. A raw product such as sugar or cocoa can be exported with few financial penalties when it crosses the border into the EU. But as soon as a developing country tries to add value to raw goods prior to export by processing cocoa into chocolate for instance the EU slaps on high tariffs (high tariffs on sugar imports protect EU sugar beet farmers and sugar refiners at the expense of farmers in developing countries).
Another issue is the agricultural subsidies given to farmers in the West. These encourage rich countries to produce surplus that are dumped onto world markets, causing prices to collapse. This undermines the livelihood of smallholder farmers in poor countries who are growing the same crop and trying to sell them on the same markets.