Economists appeal for a 
New Globalization

By: Attac
Attac Newsletter 103, November 7, 2001

The next ministerial conference of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) is planned to take place in Doha, Qatar between the 9th and the 13 November 2001. The conference agenda is alarming, because it expresses the will of the WTO to push through a new round that systematically ignores the questions posed concerning global economic development. At the instigation of the United States of America, Canada and the European Union, the WTO has surreptitiously reintroduced the four points held on to since the previous WTO conference in Singapore. The majority of the Third World countries do not wish these points to appear on the agenda : they relate to investments, trade competition, market transparency, and the liberalisation of trade, and have become
the main subjects to be contained within the new round. Southern hemisphere countries are equally against the discussion of these topics.

Tanzania, who represents the group of 'disadvantaged countries', has specified that the conditions of negotiation on these four points are not fulfilled as they deal with complex questions, the implications of which they are not yet capable of apprehending. India has also emphasised that the conditions are not yet acceptable for the
re-opening of the negotiations, and that so doing would lead to the establishment of overly constraining laws in the areas concerned.

These same countries state that they are already suffering from the trade conventions so far agreed upon, and ask, for example, that the question of access to northern hemisphere markets be covered, and that the imbalance existing between north and south be more generally taken into account. As economists, we can only share these concerns. The WTO aims lead in practice to social dumping, and it is urgent to put in place a new concept of international exchange, one based on principles of solidarity, cooperation and fair trade. It is only in this way that we can build a strong and lasting foundation for development that will respect the rights of workers in the countries of both the north and
the south, and which will protect employment, democratic rights and the ecosystem.

More precisely, we pronounce ourselves in favor of the following objectives - objectives that are at present completely absent from the programs of the WTO, if not countered by them :

- To maintain and develop public services in the most important sectors, including water, health, social security, education, culture, television, communication services, transport, housing, and energy.

- To respect the principle of precaution concerning ecology, public health, food, and in particular, production and distribution of genetically modified foods.

- To outlaw patents on plants, animals, micro-organisms and genes.

- To declare water, air and genes as the property of humanity.

- The modification of intellectual property rights on pharmaceutical products for the benefit of poor countries.

- The recognition and preservation of subsistence farming.

- The acknowledgement of the huge differences in productivity between large geographical areas, and the necessity of applying renewed international laws protecting certain zones in order to counterbalance these differences. These laws must be based upon policies for development rather than on freedom of trade.

A profound change in direction now appears urgent in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. On October 1st, 2001 the World Bank produced an alarming document reporting that the economic growth rate of third world countries is decreasing. The president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, has delivered this warning :
"We are aware of the cost in human life caused by the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania USA that caused the deaths of citizens from around eighty different nations. However, there is another human tribute which is being widely ignored; it will be paid by all third world countries, and mainly by Africa. Judging by our estimations, tens of thousands more children will die around the world, while perhaps ten million other human beings will pass under the poverty line with less than onedollar a day to live on as a consequence of the terrorist attacks. This is simply because they will
have lost their income, and far more people will be reduced to poverty if development strategies are compromised."

Saturday November 10th 2001 will be a day of demonstration on an international scale. We join in this initiative, and we take the opportunity to call upon public opinion and the European authorities in order to formulate rhe following demands made to the WTO:
- To refuse any new round of liberalisation or extension of power and spheres of competence delegated to the WTO.
 - To take out an evaluation of the WTO's results that includes the full participation of citizens' organisations, and take out an equal evaluation of the rules and practices of the WTO since its creation.
- The integration of the WTO as a specialised institution of a globalinstitutional structure with aims to put into action a worldwide plan against poverty and towards economic development.
- The subordination of the WTO to international charters such as The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to international treaties relating to economic, social and cultural rights, and to sanitary and environmental norms.

This subordination must be concrete. There is a particular need for all the activities of and decisions taken by the WTO to be controlled by independent, democratic bodies.

This subordination must also include the possibility of contesting any WTO decision in courts of law that are independent from the WTO. This is not at present the case.



First signatories

Tony Andréani (sciences politiques, Univ.Paris VIII). - Mikaël
Balabane, (Univ.Paris XIII) - Mireille Bardos (économiste) - Jacques
Bournay - Nicolas Béniès (économiste) - Christian Berdot-Mair (Les
Amis de la Terre) - Marc Bonhomme (économiste, Québec) - Lino de
Carvalho (économiste et député, Portugal) - Odile Castel (Univ.Rennes
I) - Pierre Concialdi (économiste, Réseau d'Alerte sur les
Inégalités) - Nathalie Corade (ENITA, Bordeaux). - Albano Cordeiro
(CNRS) - Laurent Cordonnier (Univ.Lille I) - Pierre Cours-Salies
(Institut d'études européennes, Univ.Paris VIII) - Christine Delphy
(directrice de Nouvelles Questions féministes) - Hélène Delorme
(politologue, CERI, Fondation nationale des sciences politiques) -
Anne Dufresne (Observatoire social européen) - Pierre Duharcourt
(Univ.de Marne la Vallée). - Alain Gély - Dominique Guibert - Janette
Habel (Univ.Marne-la-Vallée) - Jean-Marie Harribey (Univ.Bordeaux
IV) - Françoise Hatchuel (Univ. Paris X, revue EcoRev ) - Jörg
Huffschmid (Univ.de Brême) - Michel Husson (Conseil scientifique
d'Attac) - Esther Jeffers (Univ.Paris VIII) - Bruno Jetin (Univ.Paris
XIII) - Isaac Johsua (Univ.Paris XI) - Catherine Lévy (sociologue) -
Dominique Lévy (directeur de recherches CNRS) - Francisco Louçã
(économiste et député, Portugal) - Michael Löwy (directeur de
recherches CNRS) - Yannick Lung (économiste, Univ.Bordeaux IV) -
Gustave Massiah (AITEC) - Antoine Math - Jacques Mazier - Denise
Mendez - Pedro Montes (Présidence fédérale de Izquierda Unida, Etat
espagnol) - El Mouhoub Mouhoud (Univ.Paris Nord) - Martino Nieddu
(Univ.Reims) - Jacques Nikonoff (Univ.Paris VIII) - Daniel Perraud
(INRA) - Evelyne Perrin (AC!) - Claude Piganiol-Jacquet (Univ.François
Rabelais de Tours) - Dominique Plihon (Univ.Paris XIII, Conseil
scientifique d'Attac) - Christophe Ramaux (Univ.Paris I) - Pierre
Salama (Univ.Paris XIII) - Catherine Samary (Univ.Paris IX
auphine) - Catherine Sauviat (économiste) - Dominique Sicot
(journaliste économique) - Jacques Texier (philosophe) - Bruno
héret - Eric Toussaint (CADTM, membre Conseil Scientifique d'ATTAC) -
Stéphanie Treillet (IUFM Créteil) - Pierre Volovitch (économiste de la
santé) - Arnaud Zacharie (CADTM)