10. ‘The tide is turning aganst free trade and the WTO!’

	The accusation “There is a growing international backlash against the WTO and the process of corporate globalization over which it presides. Movement-building by coalitions such as People’s Global Action against the WTO in Europe and the Citizen’s Trade Campaign in the US are growing fast, as public support for corporate-managed free trade dwindles. Recent polls show that 58 percent of Americans agree that foreign trade has been bad for the US economy, and 81 percent of Americans say that Congress should not accept trade agreements that give other countries the power to overturn US laws. (Too late!). This is why tens of thousands of people from all walks of life will converge in Seattle Nov. 29-Dec. 4 to confront the World Trade Organization head on at its ministerial meeting. Join us!”

The reality

People are free to have their own opinions. The WTO is at the centre of intense debate — among governments in the negotiating rooms (which is what the WTO is for), and among citizens out in the streets. That is healthy.

But in any proper debate, it is essential to get the facts right first. Organizations supplying information about the WTO have the responsibility to make sure they’ve got their facts right, too. Those making the accusations listed here have quite simply got their facts wrong.

Some protesters might believe there is a growing international backlash against the WTO. But the countries queuing up to join the WTO, from the most populous (China) and the largest physically (Russia) to tiny Andorra, are proof that a significant part of the world believe that their economic future lies in the WTO system. And opinion polls suggest that the public in the US and elsewhere are in favour of freer trade even if they have reservations about some aspects.

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