By Jordan, Jodie and Natalie

WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION

BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE AND RESPONSE• Canada takes seal ban fight to World Trade Organisation, from July 2009

• Canada has vowed to take the appeal to the WTO on the European Union (EU) decision to ban imported seal products

• Three countries voted against the EU’s decision: Denmark, Romania and Austria

• International Trade Minister Stockwell Day stated, “We are very disappointed with this ruling. We believe this violates the WTO guidelines; the hunt is humanitarian, scientific and follows environmental rules of sustainability”

• The traditional indigenous communities of Canada are still permitted to hunt the seals under the ban

• Canadian Fisheries Minister Gail Shea stated, “Canada had expected the EU to act on science instead of lobbyists”, believing that the rulers took the ban out in an unprofessional matter

BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE AND RESPONSE• The Canadian government said, “WTO concentrations would begin 60 days after we

submit our request”

• If others choose to back the challenge to the WTO, the EU will vigorously defend their decision on their legislation

• Inuit spokesperson Violet Ford believed that the Canadian community would continue to seal hunt and may consider legal action

• Ford stated, “Inuits from Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland are highly against the EU’s ruling; hunting sustainably and humanely is something we have done for thousands of years, and will continue to do so”

• Around 6000 Canadians take part in seal hunting each year, along the Atlantic Coast

• Ottawa authorises the slaughter of 338,000 seals per season; claims the species is not endangered

• Seal hunting numbers have dropped, as well as the demand for seal products

BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE AND RESPONSE• Canada warns EU on oil sands ranking plan, from October 2011

• Canada has warned the EU that it will defend it’s interest if the EU follows through with its proposal to rank Canadian oil sands as a highly polluting fuel

• Canadian natural resources minister, Joe Oliver stated, “The European Commission’s Fuel Quality Directive potentially violates the EU’s international trade obligations.”

• The EU’s legal advisors have said the proposals can be defended if Ottawa challenges the move of the World Trade Organisation

• Canada is concerned that if their supply is tagged as more carbon-intensive than other crudes, it could set a costly precedent for current or potential markets

• Oliver travelled to Europe to press Canada’s case in an interview with Reuters in London; he stated that the EU’s plans were discriminatory

BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE AND RESPONSE• Environmental groups say developing Canada’s oil sands emits unacceptably high

volumes of greenhouse gases due to the extraction methods require machinery that uses far more energy than other conventional oil production

• The latest letter to the EU was sent ahead of the meeting in which the experts will debate proposed green ranking of fuels which is designed to enable fuel suppliers to identify most carbon intensive options

BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE AND RESPONSE• International trade helps solve food crisis: WTO, from May 2009

• Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the WTO, says that “international trade is part of the solution to the global food crisis and not one of its causes.”

• “Global integration represented by trade and the World Trade Organisation enabled food to be transported to be produced efficiently where there was demand”, said Lamy

• Egypt could never be self-sufficient with food, and trade initiated by the WTO have aided this problem

• “International trade has reduced the price of food over the years through greater competition, and enhanced consumer purchasing power”, said Lamy

• Sharp rises in food prices in 2007 and 2008 led to riots in African and Middle Eastern countries over food shortages

• “Although millions continue to suffer from hunger, the share of personal incomes spent on food in the poorest countries was declining”, said Lamy

‘REVIVING DOHA’ BY NICHOLSON CARTOONS

• Australia is pushing for free trade, getting rid of taxes and tariffs, however we need the stubborn forces such as the US and EU to get rid of farming subsidies.

THE WTO – IN A SNAPSHOT• Formed on January 1st, 1995

• Headquarters situated in Geneva, Switzerland

• 153 member states

• 630 staff

• 2011 budget was 209 million USD

Principles of the WTO include:

• Trade without discrimination

• Free Trade

• Predictability through binding - promising not to raise tariffs is called binding a tariff and binding leads to greater certainty for businesses

• Promoting fair competition

THE WTO – IN A SNAPSHOTStructure of the WTO:

Ministerial Conference – composed of representatives of member states; meets at least once every two years; carries out functions of the WTO and takes actions necessary to this effect; have authority to make decisions on all matters under any of the Multilateral Trade Agreements.

General Council – composed of member states that meet when appropriate; the General Council can take on any task from the Ministerial Conference when the latter is unavailable; establish rules of procedure and approve the rules of procedure.

Multitude of Committees, Bodies and Councils – consists of various bodies, councils and committees, for example: Dispute Settlement Body (DSU), Councils for Trade in Goods and Services.

POSITIVES OF THE WTO• WTO is required to provide the consumer not only the financial benefits but also benefits

in terms of choice and quality. With the global trade values exceeding the rates of GDP growth, the importance of free and fair trade is highlighted by the WTO.

• By lowering trade barriers allows trade to increase, which adds to incomes — national incomes and personal incomes. But some adjustment is necessary.

• Governments are better-placed to defend themselves against lobbying from narrow interest groups by focusing on trade-offs that are made in the interests of everyone in the economy.

• The WTO’s global system lowers trade barriers through negotiation and applies the principle of non-discrimination. The result is reduced costs of production (because imports used by production are cheaper) and reduced prices of finished goods and services, and ultimately a lower cost of living.

CRITICISMS OF THE WTO• They are criticised for refusing labour safeguards in trade negotiations. This leads to

workers being exploited in developing states whose governments offer that cheapest possible labour.

• Some basic negative effects of the WTO are illustrated in the harm that the organization has brought to human rights, the environment, and world hunger.

• Environmentalists claim the WTO has not linked environmental protection to trade liberalisation.

• The WTO ruled that it is illegal for any government to ban a product on the basis of how it was produced. This means that corporations can get away with outsourcing cheap labour, even child labour, to reduce production costs.

CRITICISMS OF THE WTO• WTO is said to be an undemocratic organisation. WTO is structured so its employee

demographic leads to developed states ‘winning out’ over less developed states. Also the organisational facilities and permits powerful groups dominate all the decisions over the consumer, environmental and human rights organisations.

• WTO reduces cultural diversity by ignoring cultural and social factors.

• Reduces state sovereignty.

’10 CRITICISMS OF THE WTO’• Cotton: 5 million of the world’s poorest farming families have been forced out of business

and into deeper poverty because of the $47 billion paid to rich country produces in the past 10 years. This has also affected another 10 million cotton farmers attempting to end their poverty.

• Agricultural subsidies: WTO members have failed even to agree how to reduce the huge subsidies paid to rich world farmers, whose overproduction continues to threaten the livelihoods of developing world farmers.

• Trade agreements: the WTO has failed to clarify the rules on stopping trade agreements that allow the poorest countries to be manipulated by the rich states.

• Special treatment: the WTO has failed to work through the 88 proposals that would fill the legal vacuum.

• Medicine: the poorest in developing countries are unable to access affordable medicine because members have failed to clarify

’10 CRITICISMS OF THE WTO’• Legal Costs: the WTO pledged to improve access to its legal system, which is both

expensive and complex, but has failed.

• Natural disaster: the WTO fails to alleviate suffering when it has the opportunity to do so.

• Decision-making: the WTO makes most of its decisions by consensus but achieving this is almost impossible because it is done within 153 countries.

• Fair trade: 10 years after the start of the Doha Development Round, governments have failed to make trade fair.