Forum Against FTAs
A loose platform called ‘Forum on FTAs’ was initiated in Delhi in September 2008 by organisations and individuals concerned with the impacts of India’s FTAs on peoples’ lives and livelihoods. The Forum was launched in Delhi with a national call to halt the EU-India FTA. Since then these organisations and groups have been in touch through internet, and groups in Delhi have regularly met to bring about information dissemination, advocacy and mobilization at key moments of the negotiations. The Forum acted as an advocacy group to highlight the issue of the FTAs before the progressive political parties before the general elections, met trade negotiators and shared concerns with them, drafted a call against the EFTA-India FTA prior to the third round of negotiation, and organized a press conference and a demonstration during the last EU-India FTA round of negotiation. NTUI has been involved only in the programmes of the Forum initially but with the new UPA government following an aggressive trade policy and the consequent rushing in to sign the FTA with ASEAN, it was felt that as a trade union it is essential for NTUI to play an active role in this platform. A national consultation on India’s FTAs was co-organized by NTUI on 31 August – 1 September 2009 in Delhi. This brought together trade unions, academics, research organisations and various other civil society organisations in order to primarily facilitate an understanding of what trade agreements, especially free trade agreements, mean for countries in the global south. A decision was also taken to rename the Forum. It is now Forum Against FTAs.
For more information please visit http://www.forumagainstftas.org/index.html and http://fta.icrindia.org/