Yep, back to old habits and letting the boundries between my school life and my internet life merge.... enjoy by opinionated rant about the WTO!
Although once was called the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades
(GATT), this organization has come to be known by a name that makes mothers in
third world countries quiver in their stockings… the WTO. Since the year of
1995, the World Trade Organization has stated that its goal is to increase
international trade by lowering and removing trade barriers and to make trade
more predictable. They portray themselves as heroes, saving the day by ridding
the world trade of tariffs and subsidies. This ideal system is labelled ‘Free
Trade’, and the WTO has granted itself the power to ensure that the terms of
trade agreements are followed. As many 153 countries, with 30 pending, are
members with this destructive force. The governments of these countries are
putting their trust in this villain to effectively implant trade liberalization
throughout the nations, as well as to resolve the disputes between them. Why is
the WTO such a monstrous snot-licker? What is its weapon of choice? Read along
to find out…
What I have
drawn from my research is that the WTO seems to be full of a lot of fake
promises. For example, they claim to be responsible for international
confidence and encouraging good government. However, they seem to take no
responsibility for the harmful decision they make that causes inequality
between people of lesser developed countries. Who gave them the right to
trample labour and human right laws, or destroy our environmental
sustainability? Do transnational corporations have the WTO polishing their
shoes?
If
building country’s confidence levels is there claim to fame, then they should
understand the Parker Brothers ‘Sorry!’ game. An unexplained amount of debt
from a less-wealthy-to-begin-with country might send them back to start! Most
children in the schoolyard have learned that a false sense of confidence can
lead to disaster! In this case, a poor leader might be confident in his luck to
draw a backup four, but end up backing up the importing levels due to a bad
move on his part.
“We
encourage good government” – well, I suppose this would be true, if you were so
closed minded to think that the only government worthy of a gold star is the
cookie-cutter democracy the larger nations have embedded into their history.
Other governments have a potential of thriving, if only they weren’t beat over
the head with a rolling pin, told to “be democratic”.
Did
I mention the WTO is killing people? Although many speculate about 2012, the fact that the eight months of life to
people around the world are being denied is inhumane. Like, wtf WTO? For
example, in places such as South Africa and Thailand, they are being prevented
from developing their own versions of AIDS drugs that can be sold at a fraction
of the original price. Because this drug was developed in a U.S. pharmaceutical
industry, they became all hoity-toity and upset that they were not making
exorbitant amount of money off of Thais on their deathbeds. Kick them while
they are down! Maybe while your over in their country beating them up, you will
understand that the extent of the health emergency…. All of this hassle due to
the fact that the WTO was not ok with Thailand putting up a chalk line trade
barrier to protect itself from the raging HIV destroying thousands of lives.
Maybe a little investigation first?
A
game of Monopoly is no fun if the rich get richer, because it usually means the
poor get poorer. Imagine if the WTO hovered over your family games night and
ensured this happened?!?! In fact, the UN Development Program reports that the
richest 20% of the world’s population consume 86% of the world’s resources
while the poorest 80% consume just 14%. Now, the WTO attributes to this because
they allow the richest to invest in the poor. And by invest I mean use cheap
labour and low exploitation cost to destroy the country’s economy and make them
more poor then they were before. This pulls down wages and environmental
standards in developed countries that have to compete globally.
Have
you ever heard of a company using child labor to lower manufacturing cost? How
about companies that infringe on human rights in other countries where there is
no one to stop them? Now, that is a big issue for an overseas country like
Canada to try and help with. So instead, we do our share of good deeds by
banning products made by these companies, giving them less profit and therefore
less damage done. But of course, the WTO “saves the day” but crashing down the
trade barrier, crushing Canada’s attempted act of compassion.
And if that
isn’t bad enough, like everything else in our modern day world, the WTO is ruining
environment sustainability. Although they are not like other companies, who
litter our Earth with plastic bags or pollute the waterways. Instead, they
target the people trying to make our world a better place. What better way to
destroy the environment? For example, in 1993 the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) made a rule that required gasoline refineries to make cleaner gas
in an effort to reduce air pollution. They were gracious, though, allowing five
years for Venezuela and Brazil to get their act together before threatening to
stop the trade. “But there must always be free trade!” according to the WTO,
which forced the Clean Air Act to rewrite their standards, and allow citizens
in the U.S. to be crippled by asthma and other health problems.
The
WTO policies impact all aspects of society and the planet. So why are we
letting transnational corporations inside access to the negotiations? If the
WTO claims to be for the interest of the people, how would corporations
influence that? As I recall, the goals of transnational corporations are to get
as much money from as many people. The combining of these ends in chaos. For
example US the Trade Representative relies on its 17 ‘Industry Sector Advisory
Committees” to provide input into trade negotiations. Like Pokémon, having a powerful backup line with
Charizard, Lapras, Gyrados, and Dragonite will overpower the cries of
environmental concerns and human rights from a Magikarp, Zubat, and Metapod.
But until someone stands up to this force of
evil, it will continue manipulating the world within its mighty hands. Perhaps
a social studies class of grade 10 students will be able to make enough of an
uproar to get the world’s attention. But for now, the WTO will continue to mask
itself as a superhero, stealing candy from babies and medication from dying
grandmother.
-By Jennifer Taylor
