Hi, this is the preliminary

WTroubleO

website

be welcome !

In short:
There are plans for a further broadening of the WTO mandate and this is definitely no good idea.

More than 1300 NGO (non-governmental organizations like e.g. Green Peace) have signed a petition
against such plans.
However the impact of this protest is until now very depressing.

While some organizations believe that the establishment of the WTO was a big mistake in the first
place and that it can't be improved others have the hope that the WTO can still be reformed.

How ever all groups were against the plans for the WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle at the 30th of November 1999.

In Europe the last date at which the members of parliament could influence the EU position was 11.10.99

So one of the few things left to be done for a civilized European was becoming desperate and building a web page ;-)

Now Seattle is history. How ever nothing seemed to have changed and the same plans are again on the agenda for the next  WTO Ministerial Meeting to be held in Qatar on 9-13 November 2001.

While this page my need some updating ( laste chages were made in 1999) sadly enough nearly nothing has to be changened and only additional things would have to be added.

How ever I hope you’ll like it and if you want to contact me, you can use my e-mail adress below

Norbert Mai

1. free logging agreement
2. Banana case
3. Hormon beef case
4. Structural Adjustment Programms (SAPs)
5. HIPC initiative
6. TRIMS
7. TRIPS
8. Agreement on government procurement

The Human Development Report 1999
of the

"...the Human Development Report is a crown jewel of UNDP."

"....as it has so effectively in the past, the Report champions the agenda of the world’s weak, those marginalized by globalization, and calls for a much bolder agenda of global and national reforms to achieve globalization with a human face."

in PDF files

+ the Human Development Index

 click here for a try

• A Critical Analysis of the Proposed Investment Treaty in WTO, by Bhagirath Lal Das.

This article by the former Director of UNCTAD's Trade Programme provides a critique of the aims and consequences of the Multilateral Investment Agreement (MIA) proposed by the EC in the WTO. The MIA will give foreign investors total rights without responsibilities, with drawbacks for developing countries. The arguments put forward in favour of the MIA (that it will attract more FDI to the South, prevent unilateral action, reduce competitive incentives) are also flawed.
 
• Globalization versus Internationalization -some implications, by Herman E. Daly

Herman E. Daly was from 1988 to 1994 Senior Economist at the World Bank and is currently Senior Research Scholar at the University of Maryland, School of Public Affairs. In this article he tries to sharpen the discussion around globalization by compairing it with internationalization.
 
• When Protectionism Is A Good Thing, by Herman E. Daly

Herman E.Daly wrote this article around the GATT and NAFTA debate in January 1994 :
"...there are important instances in which protectionism is an essential precondition even to economic efficiency."
 
• The Real Face of Financial Liberalisation, by Prabhat Patnaik

Prabhat Patnaik concludes by looking at the history of India, that an economy open to global financial flows tends to get caught in the mire of stagnation and lower social expenditures, both of which impinge adversely on the poor.
 
• The Capitalist Threat, by George Soros

George Soros: "What kind of society do we want? "Let the free market decide!" is the often-heard response. That response, a prominent capitalist argues, undermines the very values on which open and democratic societies depend."
 
• The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered, by George Soros

excerpt from a discussion with George Soros at the COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS eight month after the publication of TheCapitalist Threat. While the contens is fairly identical, this discussion took place 8 month after the publication of The Capitalist Threat and so after the outbreak of the Asian crises.
 
• The Lumier Report, translated by Caroline Dumonteil

This report triggered that the French no longer supported negotiations on an MAI in the OSCD

If you want to contact me
you can use:

auto15772@hushmail.com