The chief ideologist of US trade policy defends its ‘free trade’ impulse in The Economist as a route to global prosperity. In reality, responds Oxfam’s head of research, the US increasingly pursues trade policies that undermine the life-chances of poor people in poor countries.

To whose benefit is the global trading system working? How should it be improved to ensure that practical goals, such as poverty reduction and environmental protection, are advanced and principles of equity and justice guaranteed? A recent report by Oxfam addressing these questions inspired this vigorous dialogue between Kevin Watkins, Oxfam’s senior policy adviser, and Jean-Pierre Lehmann, director of the corporate forum, the Evian Group. The discussion was moderated by Caspar Henderson, Globalisation editor of openDemocracy.