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Anti-WTO "reunion" flops

By Alwyn Scott
Seattle Times business reporter

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 1999 During World Trade Organization demonstrations in November 1999, protesters protect their faces from the lingering tear gas in downtown Seattle. Plans by WTO foes to commemorate the fifth anniversary have unraveled.

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Opponents of economic globalization had planned to stage seminars, speeches and celebrations in town this week to mark the five-year anniversary of the "Battle in Seattle."

Tear gas and rubber bullets ripped Seattle's downtown in November 1999 as delegates from the World Trade Organization gathered here for a big-deal ministerial meeting. Those riots occurred as trade talks collapsed, forging a link between Seattle and the WTO protest in the public consciousness.

To rekindle that awareness ahead of the Nov. 2 election, major figures from the anti-WTO movement were to fly to Seattle this week from around the world to spend four days talking about what's changed in five years and what's in the future for trade and the global economy.

But the gathering is not to be.

	Lori Wallach of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch

The amalgam of activists organizing the commemoration, the Northwest Social Forum, canceled its events after some groups withdrew, saying they felt disenfranchised by the planning process.

The breakdown mirrored what's been going on in the WTO, where developing countries have balked at being excluded from decision making on trade rules, stalling the WTO process.

Yet the focus on economic globalization would have come at an important time, according to one of the scheduled participants, Lori Wallach, head of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, based in Washington, D.C.

Weekend events Here are globalization events still planned for this weekend: Friday Book launch and discussion: Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World is Possible; 5 p.m., Elliott Bay Book Co., 101 South Main Street Community Potluck and Teach-In: Workers from Mexico share their experiences; 6 p.m., Yesler Terrace Community Center, 835 E. Yesler Way. Call 720-0285 for information. Saturday Community Dialogue & Potluck: Small group discussions on topics of leadership and organizing; 10 a.m. — 2 p.m., St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 15 Roy St.

Congress is due to vote, possibly next month, on an agreement to extend free-trade status to Central America like that of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Wallach, who made the trek to Seattle this week, said the Central American Free Trade Agreement's (CAFTA) provisions on government procurement require Olympia and other state capitals to open their spending to competitors from around the globe.

The procurement issue is just one of several new debates slowing trade talks.

Critics like Wallach say these new agreements could override local laws on everything from the environment to food safety and zoning.

"It's not about trade," says Wallach of much of the opposition to the WTO.

It's a view shared by many of the other authors and critics who planned to speak this week, such as Walden Bello, director of Bangkok-based Focus on the Global South, and Vandana Shiva, founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in Dehra Dun, India.

Trade update Progress on trade agreements slowed after the WTO meeting in Seattle in 1999. Here is what's happening: WTO: The World Trade Organization recently reached agreement on frameworks for talks in agriculture, goods and services. However, talks are behind schedule and unlikely to conclude by the original deadline of January 2005. FTAA: The Free Trade Area of the Americas talks in Miami last year reached a framework agreement. But developing countries can opt out of issues with which they disagree. Deadline for conclusion is January 2005. CAFTA: The Central American Free Trade Agreement reached in May requires congressional ratification. Washington's generally pro-trade delegation includes four members who are still undecided about its provisions on procurement, labor, agriculture and environment. Source: WTO, USTR, congressional aides Alwyn Scott

Locke concerned

Concerns about procurement prompted Gov. Gary Locke to write the federal government in June to say that although Washington was signing up for CAFTA, it didn't want to lose its ability to award government contracts to businesses owned by minorities, disabled veterans and women.

The state also wants to use its spending to protect values like human rights, the environment and "public morals," Locke said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick responded that the state wouldn't have to change its policies. He also said the text of the CAFTA agreement wouldn't change.

Robert Hamilton, Locke's adviser on trade policy, said the state can still operate the way it wants if CAFTA is ratified. "These practices are allowed under the agreement," Hamilton said of Locke's concerns.

But how it plays out in the real world is still an open question, he said. Should a problem arise, the new rules will be interpreted by a panel of trade-law experts.

"With any law, you don't know until it's challenged," Hamilton said. "Until it goes to the panel process, you can't tell for sure" what the effect will be.

7 states withdraw

Seven states that had endorsed CAFTA later opted out — Maine, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Minnesota and Oregon.

Wallach is urging Washington to do the same. Out of 218 votes needed to defeat CAFTA in the House, she tallies 195 "no" votes and 160 in favor.

But it's a tough stance for a state that touts itself as the most trade-dependent in the nation, which may explain why there are so many Democrats in Washington who haven't stated their position on the issue.

Four congressmen from Washington — Norm Dicks, Jay Inslee, Adam Smith and Rick Larsen — haven't said where they stand on CAFTA, though Smith is "leaning no," his spokesman said.

Groups organizing a commemoration of the "Battle in Seattle" had a battle to focus on here.

Alwyn Scott 206-464-3329 or ascott@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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