Our World is not for Sale Network

We call upon civil society organizations and social movements from around the world, to voice their strong, united and unequivocal opposition to the completion of the World Trade Organisation’s ‘Doha Development Agenda’, to campaign together to stop these negotiations and to resist other bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements being forced through by governments around the world..

When the WTO was established in 1995, its stated purpose was to increase prosperity and employment, reduce poverty, diminish inequality, and promote sustainable development around the world, through greater “free trade”. After more than ten years, it is now clear that the WTO has not delivered on these goals. Indeed, it has had exactly the opposite results. Under the guise of free trade, WTO rules are being used to force open new markets and bring them under the control of transnational corporations. At the moment:

• livelihoods are being destroyed, human rights ignored, public health endangered, the environment plundered and democratic systems eroded

• local economies are being undermined, with workers, peasants, family farmers, fishers, consumers, women and indigenous peoples being especially disadvantaged and exploited and

• governments’ ability to guarantee access to the essentials of life, promote health, safety and food sovereignty, and protect cultural and biological diversity is being undermined and sometimes eliminated.

Indeed, the impacts of the WTO are so severe that it already faces broad and increasing resistance around the world. As a result, the US and the European Union are also trying to promote their economic interests by pushing hard to establish multiple bilateral and regional Free trade Agreements. But these are also meeting strong opposition. The regional FTAA (Free Trade Agreements of the Americas), for example has ground to a halt in the face of increasing resistance in the Americas. Several national governments acknowledge the disastrous effects that such agreement can have on their economies and refuse to sign on.

WTO and the FTAs are designed to serve the interests of transnational corporations and national elites and are in direct conflict with peoples’ interests. We have to stop WTO and the FTAs. Change is absolutely necessary.

Acting together, we the people from around the world, can stop the WTO! At the WTO’s Sixth Ministerial, in Hong Kong, in December 2005, a weak (and indeed contested) agreement was cobbled together at the insistence of the strongest WTO members, the US and the EU. Those same governments are now struggling to ensure the WTO’s Member States agree the frameworks (also known as the modalities) that would set the stage for the final phase of negotiations. This has to be completed by the end of July 2006, if governments are to have enough time to complete the ‘number-crunching’ stage of the negotiations before the US Congress votes on renewing or removing the US Trade Representative’s ‘fast track’ trade negotiating authority, which will happen in July 2007.

However, since governments currently continue to disagree sharply over negotiations there is a very real possibility that the damaging ‘Doha Development Agenda’ could be successfully derailed.

WTO – what’s happening now?

Although almost all governments appear to be intensifying their efforts to move the WTO negotiations towards a conclusion, it would seem that none plan to make any concessions themselves. In this ultimate game of high-stakes poker, each still expects and waits for others to make the first moves.

Negotiations on agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA, which includes industrial products and natural resources) remain deadlocked over the extent to which industrialized and developing countries will open their markets. In particular, the EU is being pushed to make further concessions in agriculture, and Brazil and India on NAMA. The services negotiations are also progressing but are now based on a controversial and secretive ‘collective’ request-offer process.(countries are not being targeted individually for the moment. The collective process is taking place with all demandeurs and demandees) The US and the European Union are pushing hard for more market access for their transnational corporations in all areas (including agriculture, services, industrial products and natural resources).

Following a mini-Ministerial meeting in Davos, in January, there was agreement among ten WTO members (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, the EU, India, Japan, Malaysia, Norway and the US) to engage in a statistical exercise to test the effect of a range of tariff cuts on agriculture and NAMA . However, a subsequent mini-Ministerial in London, in March, still saw governments refusing to change their positions. Governments have set themselves an initial deadline of 30 April for reaching agreement on the modalities for agriculture and NAMA. Further key deadlines will be the General Council meetings scheduled for 15-16 May and the end of July 2006.

Increased mobilisation and action of civil society movements around the world is necessary!
The destructive social, political, and environmental consequences of the pro-corporate, neoliberal model of globalization has already elicited rising resistance from a broad range of civil society organizations and social movements around the world, including at WTO summits in Seattle, Doha, Cancun and Hong Kong. In Hong Kong during the last WTO Ministerial a strong civil society protest increased pressure on the governments and helped to avoid a more damaging agreement being decided upon. Strong mobilizations have taken place and still are taking place against the FTAA summits in Latin Amercia and bi-lateral FTAs (in countries such as Thailand, Korea, Ecuador and Bolivia for example). Around the world, the negative results of the current global economic system are propelling organisations and movements - acting via the ballot box and in the streets - to demand change.

The power and the authority of the WTO must be rolled back. FTAs have to be stopped. People want a global economy that is built on the principles of economic justice, ecological sustainability and democratic accountability, an economy that asserts the interests of people, not transnational corporations. We are promoting the development of vibrant local economies, that support the rights of all people, including workers, peasants, migrants, family farmers, consumers, women, and indigenous people. In short, we demand a new, socially just and ecologically sustainable international framework for the 21st Century that allows local communities and economies to strengthen themselves and makes international trade respond to the needs of all people.

We must increase pressure on our governments (and transnational corporations) to stop the neoliberal agenda

We have to make it absolutely clear to governments that people around the world are united in their opposition to the neoliberal economic agenda currently being promoted by the strongest and most powerful of the governements and business. The people’s message msut be heard loudly and clearly, everywhere. We should link our campaigns and actions, for solidarity and support and to facilitate swift, flexible and coordinated responses to the WTO-FTA agenda. It is a time for organizations and social movements around the world to link up and stand firm.

What can you do?

It is crucial to increasepressure on your government - through public actions, letter campaigns, actions through your parliaments etc - so that they refuse to sell out. If you want to collaborate on actions or if you need more information you can contact one of the organisations that have signed this call.
We will also mobilize around the key WTO dates: a first one will be the General Council meeting 15-16th of May 2006 in Geneva.

If you want more information regarding WTO and organizations working around the free-trade agenda you can go to www.ourworldisnotforsale.org
If you need more information on the bilateral and regional free trade agreements you can also go to www.bilaterals.org