APWLD is launching a new publication the WTO – in a nutshell: Why women say No to WTO.
This briefer provides a critical understanding of the WTO’s history, impacts, and current initiatives.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been established for three decades and yet promises of development from trade liberalization have yet to materialize. Instead, it has promoted commercial interests, especially those of corporations in the global North, above human rights, and the environment. The WTO has contributed to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich few; increasing poverty for the majority of the world’s peoples, especially in developing countries; and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. Its undemocratic decision-making process not only deepens the unequal and neo-colonial relationships between developed and developing countries, but also shuts out marginalized communities from the process even if these communities are the most affected by trade liberalization rules. The organisation’s expansion into non-trade issues such as intellectual property, services, government procurement, and investments further threatens people’s rights, especially, women’s access to land, education, social services, and decent work and living wages among others.
People’s movements have been active since the 1990s against trade liberalization and neoliberal globalization being promoted by the WTO. The Battle of Seattle in 1999 and the Hongkong People’s Action in 2005 are reminiscent of the vibrant anti-WTO movements of the early 2000s. However, the combination of the constant deadlocks in the Doha Round, the rise of multiple bilateral and plurilateral trade and investment agreements outside the WTO, and increasing repression of activism and democratic voices resulted in the cooling down of protests against the WTO. As the WTO continues to bring down trade barriers and expand its mandate to promote corporate interests, there needs to be constant education among movements on how the WTO affects the lives and rights of people, especially marginalized sectors.
Download and read the full briefer here.
