| Who is Foreign Aid For? Foreigners or U.S. Corporations? Posted: 04 Jul 2014 09:23 AM PDT Logically, one might assume that "foreign" aid is legitimate aid to foreigners. A little digging reveals the true nature of "aid". For example, please consider the Foreign Policy Journal report Monsanto and Foreign Aid: Forcing El Salvador's Hand. U.S. foreign aid is expected to promote poverty alleviation and facilitate developmental growth in impoverished countries. Yet, corporations and special interest groups have permeated even the most well-intended of U.S. policies.
El Salvador is a recent example of corporate domination in U.S. foreign aid. The United States will withhold the Millennium Challenge Compact aid deal, approximately $277 million in aid, unless El Salvador purchases genetically-modified seeds from biotech giant, Monsanto.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is "a U.S. foreign aid agency that was created by the U.S. Congress in January 2004," according to Sustainable Pulse, and serves as a conduit for foreign aid funds. MCC's unethical aid conditions would force El Salvador to purchase controversial seeds from the American biotech corporation instead of purchasing non-GMO seeds from the country's local farmers – an action that would have negative effects on El Salvador's agricultural industry in addition to presenting serious health and environmental risks.
The conditional foreign aid from MCC is an attempt to break into El Salvador's non-GMO agricultural sector and exploit the food market. Because El Salvador has high food insecurity, it imports 85% of its food. This allows U.S. foreign aid organizations to take advantage of the dire need for their own monetary gain. The United States used similar aid policies in Haiti to force open Haiti's agricultural market for U.S. food products – effectively destroying Haiti's agricultural economy and creating an overreliance on food aid.
Due to powerful lobbying by corporate giants like Monsanto, in addition to the shipping and agricultural industries, the U.S. government's foreign aid program has become an encroaching business. Just when the U.S. foreign aid program couldn't appear to be more corrupt, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, U.S. Congress, and Monsanto have raised the bar. The remedy is simple. Stop all foreign aid. Most foreign "aid" isn't really "aid" but rather handouts to US corporations. Monsanto is a prime example of agricultural "aid". Weapons manufacturers are the true beneficiaries of military "aid". Very little "aid" actually gets to the actual citizens of the countries we allegedly attempt to help. In the case of Haiti and El Salvador, our "aid" actually does harm. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
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