2005:03PU International Trade
Whereas:
Earlier NCWC resolutions on international trade (02.10, 02.5 PU, 3.2) called for:
- Democratization, transparency, and accountability in institutions governing international trade;
- Greater attention to equality of development outcomes from trade agreements involving developed and developing countries;
Whereas:
The World Trade Organization (WTO) currently dominates trade negotiations with a narrow focus on economic considerations to the exclusion of social and environmental factors, rendering equitable sustainable development increasingly elusive, while the more democratic United Nations Council for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) becomes increasingly powerless;
Whereas:
The current post-Doha work plan of the WTO pays scant attention to the priorities of developing states (such as the reduction/removal of agricultural subsidies in developed states and access for agricultural and other primary resource products and light manufacturing products to developed world markets), while at the same time fast-tracking negotiations and agreements for the greater “value added” trade access requirements of developed states (in ascending order):
a. Services of all sorts (e.g., professional, financial, social, tourism, communication)
b. Intellectual property
c. Investment
d. Competition
e. Government procurement
f. Trade facilitation
g. Electronic communication and commerce
h. Technology transfer (e.g., human genome)
i. Environment (water, soil, minerals, forests, wildlife, biota)
Whereas:
This unbalanced negotiating power will aggravate already escalating inequities within and among states and will further exacerbate existing gender gaps;
Resolved:
That the National Council of Women of Canada adopt a policy to call for a more balanced WTO work plan such that, in the interests of a more just and equitable world, developing state trade and sustainable development priorities take precedence over those of the relatively better-off developed states; and be it further
Resolved:
That the National Council of Women of Canada urge the Government of Canada to promote a more balanced WTO work plan such that, in the interests of a more just and equitable world, developing state trade and sustainable development priorities take precedence over those of the relatively better-off developed states.