Odious debts and international fair trade

Abstract

I argue that one of the most important reasons why international trade has been unfair is that weaker parties in trading negotiations have been illegitimately forced to accept terms of trade that they would not otherwise accept under normal circumstances. Odious debts are at the center of this kind of injustice. Odious debts are sovereign debts that are not binding for the state, as public officials have used the money for private purposes. Creditor countries have taken advantage of the fact that countries are burdened with odious debts by tailoring trade agreements in their favor.