The World Trade Organization (WTO) went into effect Jan. 1, 1995, as a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which had regulated tariffs worldwide since 1947 and which was abolished at the end of 1995.
There are 135 member nations. The WTO, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, has agreements that regulate:
Tariffs on trade and manufactured goods and agriculture;
Services such as banking, insurance and telecommunications;
Intellectual property including copyrights, trademarks and patents;
Food-safety issues from pesticide use to product labeling to sale of genetically engineered food; and
Government purchasing.
Key principles of the WTO include:
National treatment, which requires member countries to regulate imported goods the same as domestic goods;
Most-favored nation through which countries agree to give equal treatment to all WTO member countries; and
Elimination of quotas on imports and exports.
The World Trade Organization is not related to the United Nations. It is not part of any government and relies heavily on input from corporate powers.
U.S. participation is through the U.S. Trade Secretary, who is appointed by the president. Charlene Barchevsky currently serves in this position. She works with more than 30 commissions that advise her on trade policies and more than 800 people who serve as advisors on those commissions. Many of these people are related to multinational corporations.
Member countries of the World Trade Organization, including the United States, can bring complaints against other member countries to the organization, which appoints a judge to decide the complaints. A recent study of complaints heard by WTO judges shows that no country's environmental, health, or food-safety laws have been upheld. They have been deemed barriers to trade.
Response magazine, March 2000
Read U.S. Supreme Court's Decision Will Impact Human Rights Abuses
Order "In Whose Hands," a 20-minute video and study guide (#2939, $5.00) available from the Service Center. This video will helps us to understand the language of the debate and incorporate it into our work for economic justice.
Order the packet of resources entitled "In Whose Hands?" (#2940, $5.00), which includes:
"False Profits: Who wins, who loses when the IMF, World Band and WTO come to town" - a pamphlet
Skits for Small Groups
United Methodist Perspectives on the Moral Issues Surrounding the WTO
A litany
Selected Biblical Passages on Justice for Workers
Africa Recovery newsletter on WTO
A United Methodist Policy Guide to Trade, Globalization and the WTO
Facts and Faces newsletter
Directory of Helpful Organizations
Articles on the WTO
A sign-on letter currently is being circulated to members of Congress that demands deeper and more meaningful debt relief for impoverished countries. The letter, sponsored by Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Ca) and Tom Campbell (R-Ca.), is addressed to House leaders Rep. Dick Armey and Rep. Richard Gephardt. Call your representative's office and urge that he/she sign on to the Waters/Campbell letter, urging full funding for debt relief. THIS IS A SIGN-ON LETTER ONLY FOR MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. www.house.gov
Africa Recovery: WTO impasse in Seattle spotlights inequities of global trading system