Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 19:54:43 +0000
From: "William G." <william@cedar.alberni.net> Subject: Preface of WTO workshop proceedings:

Preface of WTO workshop proceedings:

The World Trade Organization, or WTO, is on the verge of a new round of negotiations, dubbed the Millennium Round, set to begin at the end of November in Seattle. Proponents of the WTO are seeking to build on the sweeping changes to global trade rules negotiated during the Uruguay Round, which lasted from 1986 to 1994. The Uruguay Round dramatically expanded the scope of multilateral trade agreements to include services, agriculture, intellectual property and standards and regulations. The Uruguay Round also led to the creation of the WTO itself, out of the much narrower General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and gave the WTO strong powers over dispute resolution and enforcement. 

Many activists, unions and progressive organizations oppose the expansion
of WTO agreements. Instead, they are calling for "standstill and rollback" -- in other words, no new negotiations of any kind, but instead a review of the damage already done to citizens, communities and nations by the WTO,
and a process for reversing that damage. Standstill and rollback were terms that came to light as part of the failed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), although they were used in the directly opposite manner,
referring to laws and regulations by governments that offended the "rights"
of investors.

Early warning signs suggest that the coming Millennium Round will also have
a broad agenda that in effect puts the MAI back on the table, but in a different guise. As with the MAI, the Millennium Round is directly concerned with bolstering the hand of commerce, with little consideration for workers, the environment or culture. It builds on an agenda that is antithetical to public services, and to democracy itself.

To this end, the CCPA and the Council of Canadians held an invitational workshop on September 29, 1999 to bring together key organizational leaders
and activists to explore these themes, and to think strategically about how
to respond. The Seattle Ministerial provides us with a unique opportunity to put the WTO under the microscope, by assessing the implications of existing trade agreements and threats posed by future negotiations.

The workshop presenters were:

… Jim Sinclair, President, BC Federation of Labour

… Noel Schacter, Director, Trade and Investment Branch, BC Ministry of Employment and Investment

… Steven Shrybman, Executive Director, West Coast Environmental Law

… Ellen Gould, Researcher

… Herb Barbolet, Coordinator, FarmFolk CityFolk

… Murray Dobbin, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Council of
Canadians

… Steve Staples, BC Organizer, Council of Canadians

… Marc Lee, Research Economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives





--------------------------------------- Seth Klein
Director, BC Office
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives sethk@sfu.ca CCPA-BC
tel. (604) 801-5121 815 - 207 West Hastings St.
fax. (604) 801-5122 Vancouver, BC V6B 1H7 ccpa webpage: http://www.policyalternatives.ca