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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">September
19, 2008</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Is
the EU's Trade Policy Good for Workers?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.iatp.org/"><span style="color: blue;">IATP</span></a>'s Alexandra Strickner is blogging from the <a href="http://www.fse-esf.org/"><span style="color: blue;">fifth European Social
Forum</span></a> taking place in Malmö, Sweden, from September 17-21.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">While discussions about free trade
agreements at past European Social Forums have centered on the <a href="http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm"><span style="color: blue;">WTO's Doha Round</span></a> and its impact on people in the
Global South, the trade debates at this ESF have taken a new focus.
Organizations who don't usually deal with trade policy are exploring the
linkages and/or impacts of the current European trade policy with their issue
of concern. Given the increased levels of unemployment, stagnant wages and the
deterioration of job quality and social security, an important lense to analyse
the EU´s current trade policy is its impact on labor. The EU´s trade policy,
titled <a href="http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/october/tradoc_130376.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">"Global Europe – Competing in the World,"</span></a> claims
to contribute to growth, jobs and the <a href="http://www.etuc.org/a/111"><span style="color: blue;">European Social Model</span></a>. Representatives from trade
unions in Europe and Latin America, as well as groups working on trade policy
and labor issues in the EU and U.S., shared their analysis and experiences of
how trade policies effect labor.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">John Hilary from <a href="http://www.waronwant.org/"><span style="color: blue;">War on Want</span></a>,
Tim Costello from the U.S. based <a href="http://laborstrategies.blogs.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Global Labor Strategies</span></a> project and Gonzalo
Berron from the <a href="http://www.cioslorit.net/english/"><span style="color: blue;">Trade Union Confederation of the Americas</span></a>
outlined the negative effects of free trade agreements on workers in the Global
South and North America. Hilary also referred to soon-to-be published data on
the effects of free trade agreements on labor in the EU. Ana Camposampiero from
an independent Italian trade union (<a href="http://www.sdlintercategoriale.it/"><span style="color: blue;">Sdl</span></a>) explained that most European trade unions
still believe the opening of other countries' markets for EU products secures
jobs and creates new ones, as long there are social clauses included in such
free trade agreements. A young member of the Metal Workers Union of Germany
commented that German workers in transnationalized companies are supportive of
the free trade agenda: they see their jobs saved if more export possibilities
are secured. This spurred a discussion over the need for trade unions to
develop transnational solidarity and collaboration. It also showed the need for
more discussion and educational work to be done among workers. <br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Overall, the majority of
participants in the discussion concluded that the EU's external trade strategy
will further deteriorate job conditions and social rights, not only in the
Global South, but also in Europe, and that it will further dismantle the
European Social Model. Based on this assessment, changing the supportive
approach of most EU trade unions was considered a key challenge for the near
future, together with the need to develop alternative proposals for trade and
investment rules that truly respond to the interests of workers. <br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Posted at 04:34 PM in <a href="http://iatp.typepad.com/thinkforward/alternative_policies/index.html"><span style="color: blue;">Alternative Policies</span></a>, <a href="http://iatp.typepad.com/thinkforward/trade/index.html"><span style="color: blue;">Trade</span></a> | <a href="http://iatp.typepad.com/thinkforward/2008/09/reports-from-th.html"><span style="color: blue;">Permalink</span></a> </span></p>
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