WTO

=WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION=

__TRADE NEGOTIATIONS:__ __ IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING: __ __DISPUTE SETTLEMENT:__ __BUILDING TRADE CAPACITY__ __OUTREACH:__
 * __Who we are:__**
 * It is an organization for trade opening. It is a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements. It is a place for them to settle trade disputes. It operates a system of trade rules. Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other.
 * Everything the WTO does is the result of negotiations
 * The bulk of the WTO’s current work comes from the 1986–94 negotiations called the Uruguay Round and earlier negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
 * The WTO is not just about opening markets, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example, to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease.
 * At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. (They are contracts, binding governments to keep their trade policies within agreed limits.)
 * Trade relations often involve conflicting interests. Agreements, including those painstakingly negotiated in the WTO system, often need interpreting. The most harmonious way to settle these differences is through some neutral procedure based on an agreed legal foundation.
 * __What we do:__**
 * The WTO is run by its member governments. All major decisions are made by the membership as a whole, either by ministers (who usually meet at least once every two years) or by their ambassadors or delegates (who meet regularly in Geneva).
 * it could not function without its Secretariat to coordinate the activities
 * The WTO agreements cover goods, services and intellectual property.
 * These agreements are not static; they are renegotiated from time to time and new agreements can be added to the package.
 * Many are now being negotiated under the Doha Development Agenda.
 * WTO agreements require governments to make their trade policies transparent by notifying the WTO about laws in force and measures adopted.
 * All WTO members must undergo periodic scrutiny of their trade policies and practices
 * The WTO’s procedure for resolving trade quarrels under the Dispute Settlement Understanding is vital for enforcing the rules and therefore for ensuring that trade flows smoothly.
 * Countries bring disputes to the WTO if they think their rights under the agreements are being infringed.
 * WTO agreements contain special provision for developing countries, including longer time periods to implement agreements and commitments, measures to increase their trading opportunities, and support to help them build their trade capacity, to handle disputes and to implement technical standards.
 * The WTO organizes hundreds of technical cooperation missions to developing countries annually.
 * The WTO maintains regular dialogue with non-governmental organizations, parliamentarians, other international organizations, the media and the general public on various aspects of the WTO and the ongoing Doha negotiations, with the aim of enhancing cooperation and increasing awareness of WTO activities.

Criticisms of the WTO – Labour Organisations - Katrina & Sarah

Labour organisations criticise the WTO for refusing to insist on labour safeguards in trade negotiations, arguing that they are counter to **trade liberalisation**. This often leads to workers being exploited in developing states whose governments engage in a ‘race to the bottom’ to offer the cheapest global labour, and thus attract industry. An often levied accusations against the WTO, that it has ruled that it is illegal for a state to ban a product based on the way it is produced (such as child labour), is fiction.

The WTO has a set of rules and agreements concerning the way workers are treated in member-states, called the Labour Standards in the World Trade Organisation. These principles are based largely on those of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as well as the International Bill of Human Rights and, although, these principles are a key part of the WTO, they play a largely implicit and not overt role within the organisation. The term ‘Labour Standards’ covers a wide range of things, including; child labour and forced labour, to the right to organize trade unions and to strike, minimum wages, health and safety conditions, and working hours. The WTO has a clear consensus on labour standards, which is that all member governments are committed to international “core” standards - freedom of association, no forced labour, no child labour, and no discrimination at work (including gender discrimination). Again, although these principles are hoped for, they are not mandatory and cannot protect workers within WTO member states, hence the criticisms from international labour organisations.

Many counties have argued that the WTO impose these rules as they would provide a powerful incentive for member nations to improve workplace conditions and “international coherence” (the phrase used to describe efforts to ensure policies move in the same direction). However, there have also been augments against the change, mainly the belief that developing countries benefit from lower wages in their pursuit to have a more developed and prosperous economy.

In the WTO, the issue has been well debated. In 1996, the Singapore Conference members agreed that core labour standards should be upheld but expressed that the ILO was a body that could competently negotiate labour standards around the world. They also ruled that the WTO’s council and committees has no work concerning these issues but the WTO and ILO would continue to work together on issues under the banner of “coherence” in global economy policy-making. The labour standards issue was raised the 1999 Seattle Ministerial Conference, with no agreement reached and again in the 2001 Doha Ministerial Conference, which reaffirmed the Singapore Conference rulings.

=**WTO and Cultural Factors - Cassie, Mad, Monique**= WTO trade liberalisation ignores social and cultural factors, thus reducing cultural diversity - as stated by Sheila Copps, Canada’s heritage minister, ‘to leave cultural trade issues to the WTO would reduce the world to a giant shopping centre’.

- Restricting free-trade enables states to maintain cultural diversity - WTO enables the domination of multinational states, causing a reduction in cultural diversity and a tendency to swamp local industries and firms - if the WTO only enables trade with larger, more developed states such as the US and other westernized states, the world trade will be dominated by westernized trade, restricting cultural diversity. - As the WTO continues to promote globalisation, it will obliterate local cultures globally, by homogenizing states via westernized trade - European states such as France, Germany and the UK fear the consequences of implanting westernized culture in their state via trade - Due to the ongoing fear of the effects of westernized globalization tainting the cultural diversity of states, the UN convened an international conference to discuss how states can protect their cultural diversity from the WTO trade regimes. Bodies from over 180 states have been drafting for the Convention on Cultural Diversity (CCD) - The CCD will create an international treaty that implements the principle that culture cannot be reduced to a commodity. It will aim to exempt the states from from free trade rules of the WTO, allowing governments to protect and support their cultural industries and networks from the WTO law. - CCD's support the NGO's and groups that have argued it must not be subordinated to the WTO and support the cultural and media diversity inside countries, not only between them. - UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) member and French President Jacque Chirac said that countries such as

=The Organisation is Undemocratic= rich countries are able to maintain High import duties and quotas in certain products, blocking imports from developing countries. Eg. Clothing - the maintenance of high protection of agriculture in developed countries while developing ones are pressed to open their markets -many developing countries do not have the capacity to follow the negotiations and participate actively in the Uruguay round; (123 countries took part, It covered almost all trade, from toothbrushes to pleasure boats, from banking to telecommunications, from the genes of wild rice to AIDS treatments. It was quite simply the largest trade negotiation ever, and most probably the largest negotiation of any kind in history) and the TRIPs agreement which limits devolving countries from utilizing some technology that originates from abroad in their local systems (including medicines and agricultural products).


 * How The WTO Undermines State Sovereignty **
 * Laura Drenen and Lauren Grech**

Recongnises ability to exercise effective control over a territory.
 * Definition of sovereingty:**


 * For the past 9 years the EU has banned beef with artificial growth hormones. The WTO recently ruled that this public health law is a barrier to trade and should be abolished. The EU has to rollback its ban or pay stiff penalties.
 * By creating a supranational court system that has the power to economically sanction countries to force them to comply its rulings, the WTO has essentially replaced national governments with a unelected, unaccountable corporate-backed government.
 * Dispute panels consist of 3 trade beaurecrats who are not screened. In the Mexico file against US (tuna) one of the judges was from a group that lobbied on behalf of Mexican government for NAFTA.
 * Uruguay Round Agreement made it impossible for countries losing a case to lock the ruling. Change to previous ruling. Rulings are automatic unless a consensus rejecting the ruling. Any country wanting to block has to persuade all other WTO cases (including the state it is against) to share its view.

**CRITICISMS OF THE WTO (WORLD TRADE OGANISATION) - Katia & Charlotte** **Environmentalists complain that the WTO has not linked environmental protection to trade liberalisation** //There are plenty of accusations that the WTO either does not prevent or actually promotes environmental damages. There are three main strands of criticism:// //Further Criticisms:// -Critics claim that the issues of labour and environment are steadfastly ignored. -Former director of the Global Environment and Trade Study (GETS), Steve Charnovitz, believes that the WTO should begin to address the link between trade and labour and environmental concerns. He also argues that in the absence of proper environmental regulation and resource management, increased trade might cause so much adverse damage that the gains from trade would be less than the environmental costs. -Labour unions condemn the labour rights record of developing countries, arguing that to the extend the WTO succeeds at promoting globalisation, then in equal measure do the environment and labour rights suffer.
 * 1) Striking down of environmental laws under WTO regulations about Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs). This normally concerns domestic laws that restrict imports.
 * 2) Failure to promote (or even opposition to) pro-environmental measures.
 * 3) The WTO's attention to growth in the traditional economic sense is to the detriment of environmental concerns, at bottom because traditional conceptions of growth are not attentive enough to environmental issues.

==The structure of the WTO and its employee demographic leads to developed states ‘winning out’ over less developed states. Deana, Mary, Jess ==


 * The WTO is infamous for its untransparent and undemocratic decision-making processes. It is the only international organization to have **no formal relations with non-governmental organizations** (NGOs), and even intergovernmental organizations have only very limited access to WTO meetings. In fact, even member governments are regularly excluded from key WTO decision-making processes.
 * An added difficulty for NGOs wishing to have public interest concerns reflected in the WTO is that the WTO treats public interest NGOs on the same footing as private business groups. This means that public interest groups are competing on an equal footing with much better-resourced promoters of private interests.
 * In addition, private business usually has the means to influence governments' trade policy at other stages in its formulation. Thailand and the USA are amongst the countries that invite business groups but few, if any, public interest groups, to participate in national consultations on trade. This imbalance in non-governmental representation in trade policy is inequitable, undemocratic and often results in outcomes that favour short-term private interests rather than the public interest.
 * WTO members from developing countries complain of undemocratic trade negotiating processes, which make it hard for them to have their interests reflected. The stronger economic powers, particularly the 'quad' which includes the European Union, the USA, Canada and Japan, often manage to stitch up agreements in advance of formal negotiating sessions and present them to the membership as a fait accompli. Developing country delegates are often subject to arm-twisting or threats of withdrawal of aid or economic advantages in other areas if they do not agree to industrialized countries' WTO proposals. In recent years developing countries have improved their negotiating strength in the WTO.
 * Doha Development Round**


 * The structure of the WTO and its employee demographic leas to developed states ‘winning out over less developed states
 * The WTO launched the current round of negotiations, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) or Doha Round, at the fourth ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001.
 * The Doha round was to be an ambitious effort to make globalization more inclusive and help the world's poor, particularly by slashing barriers and subsidies in farming.
 * Main aim of Doha was to lift countries out of poverty through trade
 * The most significant differences are between developed nations led by the European Union (EU), the United States (USA), and Japan and the major developing countries led and represented mainly by Brazil, China, India, South Korea, and South Africa
 * The Doha round failed as a result of developed states seeking to protect their own economies and refusing to relinquish subsidies to farmers.
 * The negotiations have been highly contentious and agreement has not been reached, despite the intense negotiations at several ministerial conferences and at other sessions.
 * Disagreements still continue over several key areas including agriculture subsidies.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Some ministers are calling for a new path following the ministerial meeting in 2011 which ended in a deadlock
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Ministers blatantly commented saying that negotiations would not bear fruit if they continued in the same vein- a point also made by the G20 summit in November.


 * The organisation facilitates and permits powerful groups such as TNCs and developed states, to dominate discussions over consumer, environmental and human rights organisations**
 * [|Martin Khor] argues that the WTO does not manage the global economy impartially, but in its operation has a systematic bias toward rich countries and multinational corporations, harming smaller countries which have less negotiation power. Some examples of this bias are:
 * Rich countries are able to maintain high import duties and quotas in certain products, blocking imports from developing countries (e.g. clothing);
 * The increase in non-tariff barriers such as [|anti-dumping] measures allowed against developing countries;
 * The maintenance of high protection of agriculture in developed countries while developing ones are pressed to open their markets;
 * Many developing countries do not have the capacity to follow the negotiations and participate actively in the [|Uruguay Round] ; and
 * The [|TRIPs] agreement which limits developing countries from utilizing some technology that originates from abroad in their local systems (including medicines and agricultural products).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">The vast majority of developing countries have very little real say in the WTO system".
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Many non-governmental organizations, such as the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">[|World Federalist Movement] <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">, are calling for the creation of a WTO <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">[|parliamentary assembly] <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;"> to allow for more democratic participation in WTO decision making
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">WTO facilitates and permits powerful groups to dominate the others (these groups being either the richer developed countries or e.g. TNCs - transnational corporations).