Fatal Transactions submits comment on Raw Materials Initiative at EU Commission

In its submission, Fatal Transactions calls for coherence between EU development policy and the EU's need for undistorted access to raw materials in order to create win-win situations, referring to measures foreseen under the first of three pillars of the Raw Materials Initiative: (1) ensure access to raw materials from international markets under the same conditions as other industrial competitors.

Fatal Transactions raises the concern that trade partners from the developing world risk finding themselves bargaining for, rather than exercising, their right to sovereignty over their natural resource endowment. The European Commission should develop a more systematic approach, clearly defining the grounds on which the EU will refrain from imposing bans on restrictions on supply of raw materials, and on which it will not “take vigorous action to challenge measures which violate WTO or bilateral rules, using all mechanisms and instruments available”. The development of a concrete framework for how the trade dimension of the Raw Materials Initiative is to apply to developing countries should be treated as a priority.

Dealing in raw materials sourced from parts of the world that are politically or economically unstable also implicates responsibilities and duties for the EU, which is not sufficiently reflected in the current version of the Raw Materials Initiative.

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