Global Exchange Appalled that WTO Deal with China Ignores Labor Rights
Global Exchange's Statement on China and the WTO
November 15, 1999
In negotiating the WTO deal with China, US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky went to great pains to guarantee rights for foreign investors, but neglected to champion workers' rights such as freedom of association. In doing so, the Clinton Administration has placed corporate profits above human lives and basic freedoms.
This bilateral agreement will drive down wages and labor conditions not only in the US, but also for workers everywhere. China is the labor powerhouse of the world. With 130 million migrant workers desperate for jobs, China's labor situation is a benchmark for the global race to the bottom. When employees everywhere must compete with a workforce that lacks collective bargaining and independent unionization rights, the result will inevitably be lower wages and poorer standards for all.
The US must insist on the following conditions prior to China's formal accession into the WTO and before granting China permanent Normal Trading Relations with the US:
- Implementation of core international labor standards as defined by the international community at the United Nations Social Summit in 1995, the WTO ministerial in 1996, and the International Labor Organization in 1998;
- Formal ratification of the UN "International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights" and the "International Convention on Cultural and Political Rights";
- Recognition of the right to organize independent unions. A good sign of China's intent to implement core labor standards would be an amendment of its trade union law to allow the formation of other independent federations. China's trade union law currently requires all unions to affiliate with the government-controlled All China Federation of Trade Unions;
- Release of jailed human and labor rights activists;
- Support for provisions protecting workers and the environment to be included in future trade agreements and support for US efforts to establish a WTO Labor Working Group.
The US government must reverse its aggressive and hasty drive to negotiate a WTO deal with China. It should go back to the bargaining table and put labor and human rights on the forefront of any trade deal.
