Letter from 243 Civil Society Groups in 90 Developing Countries to U.S. Congress Opposing New Fast Track Authority for President Bush to Push WTO Escalation via the Doha Round
To Combat Global Poverty and Allow Developing Countries to Develop, Please Reject Pressure to Give President Bush New Fast Track Authority to Push WTO Escalation Via the Doha Round
By Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
Dear Member of Congress:
We would like to congratulate you on becoming the majority party in the U.S. Congress. From press reports, we understand that thanks to your election, your Congress now more accurately represents the majority of U.S. public opinion regarding globalization, among other issues. We also understand that many of you were elected by your citizens on the basis of rejecting the failed NAFTA-WTO globalization model. We appreciate your criticisms of these failed policies, the negative results of which have been devastating for our communities as the same policy package has been imposed in poor countries by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank for decades.
As members of civil society from every region, we are heartened to hear that Democrats are talking about a New Direction on trade policy. We are writing to share our view that this New Direction must include rejection of the current attempts to expand the failed World Trade Organization (WTO) through the “Doha Round.” We are unified in our commitment to an entirely new vision and policy for multilateral trade that would benefit, rather than damage, the world’s workers, farmers, environment, and future development potential. Therefore, we urge you to reject pressure by U.S. corporate giants and other WTO proponents to renew Fast Track for WTO negotiations.