THE MARKET ECONOMY IN QUESTION

Is the market economy still the panacea it once was or has it become obsolete with the new type of state-controlled economy that many governments are imposing on international agreements in the name of protectionism as the US administration has recently decided?

The economic model that once enriched developed countries was precisely the free-trade economy, based on the quality and price of products as well as their diversity, and of course, on the price-quality ratio. Governments allowed their economic actors to conduct their activities under the control of trade regulations, without interfering in their affairs.

The situation has, however, evolved with mass unemployment, which is rampant almost everywhere, a consequence of globalization. This globalization pushes shareholders to seek profit at all costs, incentivizing them to divest unprofitable branches of their companies in order to maximise their gains. Faced with growing popular discontent, often fuelled by unemployment due to high production costs and offshoring linked to high Labor costs in low-cost countries such as China, and developing countries.

In this regard, they wanted to develop cooperation with the European Commission to sell their products on our continent, Europe, in exchange for the conclusion of strong trade agreements by the Member States. For my part, it seems perfectly normal to me that these countries conclude agreements with us, since we ourselves sell them our products; why shouldn't they be able to do the same?

I fully understand the position of the farmers who vehemently denounce the unfair competition represented by the flooding of our countries with their products, knowing that there is no equal treatment between the former, who have imposed binding agricultural laws prohibiting pesticides on crops, and the latter, expatriate Mexican farmers, who do not benefit from any restrictions and can use all types of pesticides in defiance of environmental standards, not to mention the absence of compliant Labor legislation, which forces them to pay their employees the lowest possible wages.

Okay, I understand! But what do we do now? Should we give up, as French and European farmers would like, and thus plunge these countries into a deep socio-economic crisis due to lack of foreign currency to revive their economies? Or should we support them in order to find a mutually beneficial agreement to prevent the collapse of these economies?

My answer is that we must try to reach an agreement, because protectionism on hard drives will plunge these regions into a catastrophic situation! It will cause a massive exodus of desperate people to developed countries due to famine and misery.

It is certainly difficult for farmers to cope with all these economic constraints, but they must anticipate the consequences, which will be far worse if we do not tackle this problem head-on. A compromise must be found to avoid chaos on both sides of the continent. This is the essential condition for maintaining social peace on both sides of the negotiating table.

And most importantly, let's sit down at the negotiating table to finalize an agreement! Global economic stability depends on it!

Text written by Gustave ELLA-MENYE on December 15, 2025