Additional WTO Resources
6th WTO Miniserial in Hong Kong
Hong Kong WTO Talks Produce Empty Promises
by Jessica Walker Beaumont, January 2006
Although this round of negotiations that started in Doha, Qatar in 2001
claimed to be of special benefit to developing countries — hence
the name “Doha Development Round”— it is clear that the
wealthy countries continued to aggressively shape the agenda to their advantage. More>
Putting a Human Face on WTO Talks
by Amy Gottlieb
Hong Kong, Sunday, December 11, 2005
 As we ended the protest march in anticipation of the opening of the 6th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial in Hong Kong, we walked through the streets of this city teeming with skyscrapers and found ourselves surrounded by hundreds of young women. The women were seated on blankets, clustered in groups of five or six, enjoying picnics, chatting, and playing cards. They were Southeast Asian, mostly Filipina and Indonesian, and we learned that they were domestic workers taking advantage of their one day off.
More >
China's Growth: Miracle or Mirage
by Arnie Alpert, January 2006
It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, American-style, in China’s Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, an area on the Pearl River Delta near Hong Kong, when I visited in early December. The country, still ruled by the Communist Party, is often described as a miracle of economic growth. But when you get up close, the apparent prosperity reveals itself as a mirage for most workers. More>
View more photos from the 6th WTO Ministerial >
WTO Statements
Statement on WTO GATS Mode4 Negotiations
As groups representing migrant communities, organized labor, people of faith, and people concerned with human rights and justice, we express opposition to the expansion of GATS Mode 4 and question its potential as a development policy. More >
Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment Statement on WTO Hong Kong Ministerial
We call upon the President of the United States and the U.S. Trade Representative to discontinue their current negotiating approach, which the development organization OXFAM has characterized as one of “naked self-interest.” Instead we urge them to negotiate in ways consistent with their stated commitments to authentic development. More >
Understanding the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS)
The GATS is one of 28 free trade agreements of the WTO and it sets the rules for trade and investment in services. Services are estimated to represent 60 - 80% of GDP of WTO member countries. GATS covers 160 service sectors such as road building, water delivery, education, health care, and telecommunications, to name a few. The scope of the agreement is very broad potentially covering government regulation of trade in services and government services at all levels.
The Trouble With GATS
Under the framework of “Free Trade Agreements,” a new set of regulations for the entire global economy is under construction. Often under the “radar” of public and press scrutiny, negotiations over trade rules in services have tremendous implications for human rights, public health, environmental protection, community-centered economic development, and the function of democratic government. More >
GATS, Migration and Guest Worker Programs
The current WTO talks have brought migration into the center of trade policy work. Some developing countries’ governments are negotiating for developed countries to expand their commitments on temporary labor migration (Mode 4) as covered under the GATS. The use of “guest workers” raises many human rights and economic development questions for both sending and receiving countries. Migrant and human rights groups and some policy makers wonder whether the WTO is the appropriate body to be dealing with this multi-faceted issue. More >
Articles on the WTO
Cancún “Collapse”: Victory for Global Justice Movement, by Arnie Alpert, October 2003,
written for Peacework Magazine.
Web resources
Please also see the What You Can Do and Other Organizations sections of this site.
- For regular WTO updates see the Bridges Monthly Review on the ICTSD site: www.ictsd.org
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