As this note explains, food sovereignty—the right of peoples and nations to define their own food systems, prioritizing local production, sustainability, and community well-being—can only be achieved through the collective and simultaneous use of trade tools like tariffs and NTBs, alongside robust national public policies. While not the only instruments needed, tariffs and NTBs are among the many essential tools for protecting domestic agriculture, ensuring fair trade, and promoting diverse, peasant-led agroecological food systems.
La Via Campesina has long argued that the neoliberal dogma underpinning international trade must be dismantled. It has only deepened inequality and hunger, driven debt crises, and exacerbated the climate emergency, with catastrophic consequences for people and the planet. It is time to reimagine global trade structures—redirecting instruments such as tariffs and subsidies to those who most deserve them: peasants, small-scale food producers, fisherfolk, and rural workers.
https://viacampesina.org/en/2025/06/making-sense-of-tariffs-a-briefing-note-by-la-via-campesina/
