I am writing to you about the European position at the World
Trade Organisation Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, Mexico, and
my concerns that the current international trade system will
be shaped into something even more unfair and imbalanced.
At the recent European trade minister's meeting in July in
Palermo, governments have reiterated their demand to expand
the WTO's agenda despite significant concerns from civil society
groups and developing countries.
I strongly believe that there should be no expansion of the
WTO agenda in Cancun to include new issues such as investment.
Governments should have the right to regulate companies for
social and environmental reasons, and poor countries should
be able to develop their own economies by giving special treatment
to their domestic industries - something that has been done
in the past by all successful economies. If the WTO's free
trade principle is applied to areas like investment, competition
policy and government purchasing, it will undermine essential
government powers to make their development work for a sustainable
future and benefit alone transnational corporations.
In September 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development
you agreed on the need for addressing the negative impacts
by transnational corporations. Transnational corporations and
their investments desperately need regulating to ensure human
rights and the environments are protected.
However legally binding investment rules shall not be established
under an organisation whose mandate is to deregulate international
trade. Therefore I ask you to withdraw proposals for WTO expansion
that will give more rights for big business in the WTO.
Instead, I ask you to demonstrate a clear commitment to binding
corporate accountability through formal support for such a
law on national, European and UN level.
Another matter I would like to address with you is my profound
unease about the anti-democratic nature of much of the WTO's
work. I believe the WTO operates in an untransparent, undemocratic,
and unaccountable way.
Two examples are the way an investment agreement is being
pursued against the wishes of many large developing countries
and the now formal attempts of the US to impose their GMOs
into the diet of Europeans and people around the world against
their own will. In both cases I understand this is due to much
pressure from the powerful business lobby that would be the
only benefiting from such outcomes while the environment and
people, in particular the poor would be seriously harmed. I
expect that my government is resisting such pressure.
I respectfully urge you to review my government's
positions on these and other related areas and to ensure
throughout that
the official governmental position in Europe and elsewhere
represents the wishes of its people and not solely the interests
of big business. Trade must change to work for the benefit
of people and their environment. I believe you have a key role
to play in ensuring that it does.
