Fair Trade Resolution Introduced in House of Representatives

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) introduced a resolution today recommending that the Legislative Branch and the Executive Agencies make Fair Trade Certified coffee available at its events and food service venues. The resolution further directs Congress to provide information to the public about Fair Trade coffee.

Fair Trade Certified Coffee is currently available in the European Parliament, the British House of Commons, the World Bank and a few cafes on Capitol Hill.

Fair Trade guarantees fair wages and employment opportunities to millions of producers of coffee, chocolate, and many other foods and artisan handicrafts. Fair Trade benefits farmers and rural communities, while meeting a growing consumer demand for high quality products that respect people, their communities and the environment.

One of the leading organizations working with global Fair Trade groups to break poverty cycles and empower developing nations through more sustainable based trade rules is the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

IATP is organizing an International Fair Trade Fair and Sustainable Trade Symposium in conjunction with the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 5th Ministerial Meeting in Cancun Mexico in September, where global leaders will be offered solutions to the social and economic crisis faced by farmers and rural communities worldwide.

"The Fair Trade movement has flourished largely because the WTO-driven, free trade model has failed to respond to the needs of poor countries," said IATP President Mark Ritchie. "There is a real opportunity for the WTO and the U.S. government to incorporate Fair Trade principles in developing new trade rules."