top 10 reasons to oppose the world trade organizationtop 10 reasons to oppose the world trade organization

Top 10 Reasons to Oppose the World Trade Organization 1. While opinions differ Some protesters might accusations which can be found, for example on the Global Exchange website at http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/rulemakers/topTenReasons.html, Those least able to pay for vital services working class communities and communities of color are the ones who suffer the most. Part B: Review the Following and Read the Links: "Top 10 Reasons to Oppose the World Trade Organization" 1. Aside from tariffs and quotas, trade agreements also address subsidies. Yet the global food supply is increasingly falling under the control of giant multinational corporations. "Protestors Raise Hell in Geneva. 1. 5. WTO undermines local development and penalizes poor In order to be in compliance with NAFTA, the Mexican government actually had to change the Mexican Constitutions land redistribution statutes to allow foreign ownership of land. Over the past decade, the U.S. government abolished its supply management program, which caused agricultural oversupply that led to a price collapse. Together with citizens all over the world, Global Exchange has organized against the global rulemakers, because we believe in a vision of global economic integration that values workers rights, fair trade, and environmental protection over corporate profits. The The WTO or World Trade Organization is an international organization that has a primary purpose of opening trade to all countries for mutual gain. franais. WTO only serves the interests of free trade will promote global understanding and peace. barriers to trade. ", World Trade Organization. As corporations begin to patent seeds, local farmers must pay annual fees and/or sign technology use agreements that prohibit saving patented seeds and limit the use of seeds that have been used by generations. Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization is writing a constitution for the entire globe. Top > Concerns Action to reverse the trend in falling commodity prices is essential to any initiative undertaken at the international level to facilitate sustainable development, poverty reduction and debt relief. Whats more, CAFTA would pave the way for a massive Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) currently in negotiations, which would extend the scope of NAFTA to include all countries in the western hemisphere except Cubathus multiplying the harrowing effects of NAFTA on small farmers and threatening food security for generations to come. We have the power to change the global food system if we work together with farmers, environmentalists, consumers, and human rights advocates to say NO to the global corporatization of the food system and YES to people and earth-centered global agricultural policy. When the bubble popped, the IMF and US government stepped in to prop up interest and exchange rates, using taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street bankers. The Top 10 Reasons to Oppose the WTO Top 10 Reason to Oppose the IMF Top 10 Reasons to Oppose the World Bank To build real global security, we need international agreements that respect peoples rights to democracy and trade systems that promote global justice. The IMF along with the WTO and the World Bank has put the global economy on a path of greater inequality and environmental destruction. maintenance, telecommunications, construction, banking, insurance, transportation, shipping, postal services, and, tourism. The U.S. consumer price index for food rose by 22 percent between 1994 and 2002. > Concerns The policies of the WTO impact all aspects of society and the planet, but it is not a democratic, transparent institution. 8. (Article 1 and Article 42) 2. In spite of its obvious failures, new trade agreements are being written to expand NAFTA-style corporate free trade. Increased Trade Increases Our Dependency on Oil. The Fair Trade system is the best model for an agricultural trading system that guarantees fair prices and community empowerment, based on cooperative economics, farmer empowerment, increased transparency, and decreased power of purchasing monopolies. 1 . Common Misunderstandings about the WTO. Once again, the WTO demonstrates that it favors corporate profit over saving human lives. "World Trade Organization: Overview and Future Direction," Page 2. Many countries do not even have enough trade personnel to participate in all the negotiations or to even have a permanent representative at the WTO. The stated theory of free-trade proponents is that increased trade and decreased government regulation would increase food security and solve rural poverty. The WTO rules are written by and for corporations with inside access to the negotiations. The, product based on the way it is produced, such as goods, produced with child labor. are reached only by consensus among those governments. Unlike United Nations treaties, the International Labor Organization conventions, or multilateral environmental agreements, WTO rules can be enforced through sanctions. Common Misunderstandings about the WTO, 3rd All the evidence points to trade making a major contribution to increasing standards of living and to lifting people out of poverty. A country may have to sacrifice its own interests to avoid violating WTO agreements. People are free to that give other countries the power to overturn US laws. And while subsidies provide some relief to some struggling family farmers, they are not enough to make up for low commodity prices, and have contributed to the erosion of small farms in the U.S., increasing market concentration. 8. What Is an Abolitionist? 9. As a result, our human right to food has become dependent on multinational corporations and markets, putting small farmers out of business and increasing the risk of hunger and famine worldwide. WTO is killing people, The What exactly is the WTO, and why do so many people oppose it? When it is followed by a prepositional phrase, the preposition to use is to, not against. WTO is a stacked court, The Common Misunderstandings about the WTO, 3rd The WTO is currently negotiating Developed countries should address the problem of tariff escalation, the practice of increasing tariffs with the level of processing. For these least-developed countries, eliminating tariffs or quotas puts their rural majority at risk of hunger and starvation as they lose their source of income and access to their own food production. The WTO Is Fundamentally UndemocraticThe policies of the WTO impact all aspects of society and the planet, but it is not a democratic, transparent institution. And small, independent farmers from both rich and poor countries are more concerned about ensuring adequate prices for local production than they are about exporting food. Consumer prices were supposed to decline under NAFTAyet while farmers commodity prices have plummeted, consumer food prices have risen in all three NAFTA countries. WTO is a stacked court WTO is a stacked court Enforce Labor Laws for Farm Workers. Third World Network www.twnside.org.sg, by Deborah James written in the early 2000s. 7. Doc Preview. 10. The WTO is killing people, The Nearly 80 percent of all malnourished children in the developing world live in countries where farmers have been forced to shift from food production for local consumption to the production of export crops destined for wealthy countries. multinational corporations, The The WTO rules are written by and for corporations with inside access to the negotiations. misinformation. show that 58 percent of Americans agree that foreign trade has been bad for the US countries where the drugs are cheaper [5].. information are denied, and the proceedings are held in secret. out more, In Even in the U.S., farm workers are not covered under many domestic labor laws. The fight for fair and just economic system that puts workers and the environment above profit continues today. A Brief History of International Trade Agreements, Export-Led Growth Strategies Through History. Access to AIDS Medicines Stumbles on Trade Rules. The WTO would like you to believe that creating a world of free trade will promote global understanding and peace. The WTO is killing people 6. WTO is increasing inequality, 9. 4. WTO undermines local development and This means WTO rules become part of a country's domestic legal system. WTO tramples over labor and human rights, The The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) were created at the end of World War II by the U.S. and British governments. World Trade Organization. "WTO Protests Mushrooming Around the Globe. In fact, negotiations in the FTAA broke down over access to the U.S. for Brazilian orange juice, soy, beef, and sugar exports. Movement-building by coalitions such as Peoples Global The WTO is at the centre of intense debate among The WTO was born out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was established in 1947. multinational corporations Criticism, yes misinformation, no! Congressional Research Service. The WTO is now attempting, to deregulate service industries such as logging, fishing, water, utilities, and energy distribution, leading to further exploitation, Property rights (TRIPs)patents, copyrights and. Public Citizens Global Trade Watch www.citizen.org/trade/ Subsidies are government payments made to producers. 5. WTO undermines local development and Citizen input by consumer, environmental, human rights and labor organizations is consistently ignored. Developed countries should reduce their tariffs, eliminating higher tariffs faster than lower ones. 3. The fight for fair and just economic system that puts workers and the environment above profit continues today. 1. Promote Real Democracy. Workers in the U.S. are also hurt by IMF policies because they have to compete with cheap, exploited labor. The U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), soon to go before Congress, and the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), currently in negotiations, are modeled on NAFTA. The Mexican 1995 peso crisis was partly a result of these IMF policies. IMF loans and bailout packages are paving the way for natural resource exploitation on a staggering scale. themselves. The WTO is a stacked court 3. This now-legendary meeting and protest has become known as The Battle in Seattle and inspired generations of activists to fight for a better global and local economy, better planet, and better conditions for workers and the global citizenry. Nor does either agreement ensure that member countries dont lower or waive their existing environmental laws in an effort to attract investment. In 2002, an average of 600 Mexicans were forced off their land each day. > Concerns Criticism, YesMisinformation, No! The WTOs most favored nation provision requires all WTO member countries to treat each other equally and to treat all corporations from these countries equally regardless of their track record. Concerns The WTO Is Fundamentally Undemocratic The WTO Would Privatize Essential Services If the U.S. had moved to withdraw from the organization, trillions of dollars in global trade would have been disrupted. In addition, countries have historically promoted their local economies by protecting domestic production from foreign competition. So the primary threats to local food production, in addition to the forced abolition of tariffs and quotas, are unfair subsidies and market concentration that have led to a global crisis in commodity prices and illegal dumping. Developing countries usually do not have enough money to subsidize their farmers to the extent as developed countries. 3. WTO only serves the interests of In reality, the WTO has been the greatest tool for taking democratic control of resources out of our communities and putting it, into the hands of corporations. In return, the IMF provides its members with . ALSO: 'The WTO is destroying the environment' The accusation The aim was to enhance global trade and economic openness, but it has been a source of controversy ever. for new inventions does not mean the government has to allow the invention to be used.). Developing countries should be encouraged to produce food for their domestic market. These are some typical tide is turning against free trade and the WTO. The WTO is destroying the environment Public assets such as forestland and government utilities (phone, water and electricity companies) are sold off to foreign investors at rock bottom prices. 2 - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. For example, Mexico has always maintained high tariffs on corn imports, in order to protect small family corn farmers against a flood of cheap imports from industrialized countries. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards terms like The U.S. government collects 25 percent of the value of French wine imported. The price of Mexican corn fell 70 percent. and responses (2), On But rich countries, hypocritically, have largely won exemptions for the types of subsidies they use, while prohibiting the types of subsidies used by developing countries. It did not rule that the US Clean Air Act was illegal. Its organizational functions have been absorbed into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Community of Democracies. For example, regulations a country may wish to establish to protect its industry, workers, or environment could be considered barriers to the WTO's aim to facilitate free trade. Countervailing duties (CVDs) are tariffs levied on imported goods to offset subsidies made to producers of these goods in the exporting country. A series of trade negotiations, GATT rounds began at the end of World War II and were aimed at reducing tariffs for the facilitation of global trade. The disproportionate amount of power held by wealthy countries means that the interests of bankers, investors and corporations from industrialized countries are put above the needs of the worlds poor majority. This means that protective tariffs for staple food products such as rice and beans are prohibited. 2. The Trade Act of 1974 passed to expand U.S. participation in international trade and reduce trade disputes through the reduction of barriers to trade. Thus, a country becomes limited in its choices. Reasons to Oppose the World Trade Organization 1. trademarkscomes at the expense of health and human lives. The IMF bails out rich bankers, creating a moral hazard and greater instability in the global economy. Like NAFTA and the WTO, CAFTA and the FTAA would further undermine anti-trust laws, encouraging further monopolistic control of agricultural markets and putting downward pressure on global agricultural prices. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. There is also agoods council, services council, andintellectual property rights council, which all report to ageneral council, in addition to many working groups and committees. But in any proper ALSO: You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our. 6. The tide is turning against free The IMF does not consider the environmental impacts of lending policies, and environmental ministries and groups are not included in policy making. Has trade worsened inequality? All commodity crops should be produced under the Fair Trade system. GATT was part of theBretton Woods-inspired family, including theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) and World Bank. Under the IMF imposed economic reforms after the peso bailout in 1995, the number of Mexicans living in extreme poverty increased more than 50 percent and the national average minimum wage fell 20 percent. WTO is a stacked court, The If an import has a tax that a local product doesnt, the imported product becomes more expensive than the local product. The WTO has 164 members that have ratified the rules of the WTO in their individual countries as well. > Concerns In the past five years, 1600 Mexican migrants have died while trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border searching for jobs. Much of the negotiations in free trade agreements involve reducing tariffs. WTO! The fight for fair and just economic system that puts workers and the environment above profit continues today. WTO undermines local development and the booklet, Seattle: Whats at stake? Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Ministerial Conference, which holds meetings at least every two years, makes the top decisions. a WTO challenge over proposed national health laws that would encourage the use of generic WTO only serves the interests of Cash crops like coffee, cocoa, sugar, and bananas represent the largest source of income for developing countries. Food as a human right demands that governments set national policies that encourage food securitylocal and diverse production of food to guarantee adequate and accessible nutrition for all citizens. WTO only serves the interests of multinational corporations, 2. Fortunately, agricultural policies that promote food sovereignty have been developed. Unlike the path historically followed by the industrialized countries, the IMF forces countries from the Global South to prioritize export production over the development of diversified domestic economies. Developing countries won an important victory in, 2001 when they affirmed the right to produce generic drugs (or, could provide essential lifesaving medicines to their populations, The policies of the WTO impact all aspects of society and the, planet, but it is not a democratic, transparent institution. multinational corporations, The Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work.