12 May, 2011The IMF Working Party on Trade, Employment and Development expresses concerns for the proliferation of Free Trade Agreement negotiations that do not put sustainable development and the creation of good jobs with respect of labour rights at the centre of trade liberalization.
GLOBAL: Gathering in Geneva from all regions for its annual meeting on May 10-11, 2011, the IMF Working Party on Trade, Employment and Development (WP) analyzed what appears to be an un-resolvable inability of the multilateral system to set fair, effective, and democratically agreed rules for international trade. With the Doha Round stalemate, bilateral and regional agreements are taking more and more the scene of trade negotiations. This requires transparent discussions on the respective priorities between the trade unions from the countries involved.
Metalworkers' regional coordination has improved, and so have the exchanges between IMF affiliates of different countries and North-South dialogue. In the presence of massive and effective corporate lobbying strategies, the workers' interests need to be voiced more loudly. The WP recommended further development of the cooperation between IMF affiliates especially in terms of assessment of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) expected economic repercussions.
Concerns were expressed, especially by participants from Europe and India, for the lack of transparency and of trade unions information and involvement on the ongoing FTA negotiations. IMF and European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) improved cooperation over the past year was positively evaluated.
The WP agenda focused on negotiations that involve whole regions, as it is the case with the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement; on Japan's trade strategy in the difficult post-earthquake scenario; on the EU's FTA with Korea and negotiations with India, African countries and Mercosur. The impact of the growing economic presence of China in the Mercosur area was thoroughly analyzed. Developments in India's trade policy were discussed, in particular its impact on the country's labour market and the risk of an increased share of so-called informal jobs as a result of trade liberalization.
Future work plans for the Working Party were discussed. Texts of contributions by the participants and background documentation can be requested from [email protected].