Cotton used to be king. And for some it still is.

For the United States, it has become so… Cotton used to be king. And for some it still is.

For the United States, it has become so important that we subsidize Western companies to the tune of $4 billion a year. This is leaving 10 to 15 million African farmers and families threatened, according to the New York Times.

More specifically, the United States is funding the competition of African nations such as Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. Thus, these third-world nations cannot afford to raise their cotton prices, and their farmers remain in this stagnant profession where the yearly profit is around $255.

But the African farmers aren’t alone in believing that these practices are unfair; the World Trade Organization has deemed the actions of the United States illegal.

A meeting has been set in Hong Kong in an attempt to resolve this cotton crisis and other problems involving trade. The Unites States has declared that, at most, they are open to the expansion of agricultural markets and it does not seem that we are even interested in a compromise that would make a significant difference.

The United States has a Republican government, and that government supports open and free market economies. This hypocritical move of subsidizing uproots the idea of a free market economy. Companies should be able to compete without governmental interference.

As a state that can afford to pay for cotton at increased prices, we are ignoring the concerns of the less developed that stand to be economically mobile if they were able to profit from their product. Supporting these companies gives them the advantage and these businesses should not have an advantage from the state.

Some people are working for the Africans who are suffering from these injustices. The URESCO-CI union is readying a petition against subsidies for the meeting in Hong Kong, but even their outlook seems pessimistic. They warn those who cannot be competitive in the market to give up on the industry.

Oftentimes it is not that easy. In the United States, entrepreneurs whose business plans seem overachieving can reevaluate, strategize or abandon it all together. Those in Ivory Coast, who are born into a family of cotton producers with no other trade or skill available to them, do not have this luxury of choice.

With all of these injustices occurring, we might think we are powerless. However, there are contributions we can make to help improve the progress of the third world. Organizations such as ONE strive for fair trade, debt relief and fighting corruption in the global economy.

According to their Web site, it would take only one percent of the total U.S. budget to combat the above. While our country might not be open to compromise at the upcoming conference in Hong Kong, we can still give support to this cause of fair trade.