about the WTO


Decades of environmental protection efforts are under attack from 
the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Marine Mammal 
Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean
 Air Act have all been weakened as a result of controversial
 rulings issued by the WTO. What's next on the WTO's agenda?
 A Global Free Logging Agreement, which would rapidly accelerate
 the destruction of the Earth's forests.

Established by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
 in 1995, the WTO's main function is to ensure that trade flows
 as "smoothly, predictably, and freely as possible." It has the
 authority to administer and police free trade agreements, oversee
 world trade practices, and settle trade disputes, including disputes
 over government measures that act, directly or indirectly, as trade
 barriers. If the WTO rules that a law is a barrier to trade, the 
offending government must either change the law, pay heavy fines, or
 suffer severe trade sanctions. The result is a disaster for democracy,
 and for laws designed to protect labor, human rights, and the 
environment. Consider the following examples:

Marine Mammal Protection Act: The Marine Mammal Protection
 Act banned the import of tuna from countries whose fleets use
 fishing methods that kill dolphins. In 1992 this law was challenged
 under GATT (the WTO's predecessor) on the grounds that it was
 a barrier to trade, and a dispute panel ruled against the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act. Last year, Congress weakened the Marine
 Mammal Protection Act to comply with the ruling. This year, US
 supermarkets will once again sell tuna that is caught using methods
 that kill thousands of dolphins each year.

Endangered Species Act: The Endangered Species Act banned
 shrimp imports from countries that do not use devices designed 
to keep endangered sea turtles out of shrimp nets. In 1995, four
 nations challenged this law, claiming that it violated the rules 
of the WTO. Last October, the WTO ruled against the US ban on
 unsafe shrimp imports. The US government is now considering
 weakening the Endangered Species Act to comply with the
 WTO's ruling.

Clean Air Act: On behalf of its oil industry, Venezuela charged
 that a provision in the US Clean Air Act requiring cleaner gas was
 biased against foreign oil refiners and therefore created a barrier
 to international trade. The WTO agreed, ruling against the Clean 
Air Act and requiring the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) to rewrite the clean-air rules or face retaliatory trade 
sanctions. In 1997 the EPA weakened its Clean Air Act regulations
 to comply with the WTO ruling, acknowledging that the change 
"creates a potential for adverse environmental impact."

When the WTO held its highest level meeting in Seattle,
 a global trade agreement for the Earth's forests was one of its top
 priorities. The agreement would eliminate "barriers" to the trade in
 forest products, with a focus on eliminating tariffs (import taxes)
 on forest products. The elimination of tariffs would increase consumption
 of forest products and accelerate destruction of already endangered
 forests. The agreement may also put at risk environmental measures
 such as bans on the use of endangered tropical timber, safeguards
 to prevent the importation of invasive species, and ecolabeling and
 certification of sustainably harvested timber.

Under WTO rule, the interests of international trade-which are primarily 
the interests of transnational corporations-are supreme, taking 
precedence over all other considerations, including democratic rule.
 Since its inception, the WTO has ruled in favor of corporate, economic
 interest and against laws designed to protect people and the environment
 every single time. As the new millennium approaches, it is up to us
 to determine if this is the kind of institution that we want regulating 
the global economy of the future.