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to privatisation of their public services and would only agree to tive market in every sector and in every WTO member country is GATS if they could choose which services to include in the agree- the ultimate goal." The end result of this scenario would be gov- ment. So GATS has country-specific schedules of commitments ernment of the corporations, for the corporations and by the cor- which detail which services are covered. Nonetheless, GATS cre- porations. What public services remained would be forced into ates legally enforceable obligations backed up by trade sanctions. constant competition with the corporations, leading to slashing of The WTO says that GATS is the first multilateral agreement to labour costs and services to the poor. provide legally enforceable rights to trade in all services. It has built-in commitment to continuous liberalisation through periodic How does GATS operate? negotiations. And it is the world's first multinational agreement The trade ministers of WTO member countries meet in regular on investment, since it covers not just cross-boundary trade but session and, when negotiating, in special session. Countries also every possible means of supplying a appoint representatives to the Council service, including the right to set up a on Trade in Services which meets commercial presence in the export more frequently to do the legwork for market. the ministers. The WTO provides This sets out rights without respon- . . . staffing through its Secretariat locat- sibilities for corporations, including GATS Is the first multilateral ed in Geneva. The US Trade Representative's office (USTR) is the lead US agency and also maintains the right of US corporations to set up agreement to provide legally operations in other countries immune from US laws. enforceable rights to trade sat in Geneva wel . . a member country believes The "Built-in" Agenda in all services. another member country has violated Now big changes are being proposed. GATS is part of the "built- in agenda". Negotiations are going GATS and they cannot resolve their disagreement, the aggrieved country can bring its claim to the WTO's dis- forward, even though the pute settlement body, which has not "Millennium Round" of new WTO been receptive to environmental, negotiations came to a screeching halt in Seattle in December health and other public concerns. This panel meets in closed ses- 1999. This is because the original GATS requires negotiations to sion, acting like a secret tribunal. Decisions are enforced by the recommence at the beginning of 2000 in order to pursue winning country imposing economic sanctions on the losing coun- "progressive liberalisation". try until it comes into compliance. The service industry corporations see a real opportunity here. To quote J. Robert Vastine, President of the US Coalition of How will GATS affect our lives? Service Industries, speaking in Tokyo on May 13, 1999: "The Privatisation of services has impacts on how children are edu- overarching objective of the global business community in the cated, how the elderly are cared for, how workers are treated, coming negotiations should be both to broaden and deepen coun- even how we obtain water to drink. GATS rules will accelerate a tries’ GATS liberalisation commitments. A contestable, competi- trend towards privatisation of human services which is already In tha TInitad Ctatas tive market in every sector and in every WTO member country is the ultimate goal." The end result of this scenario would be gov- ernment of the corporations, for the corporations and by the cor- porations. What public services remained would be forced into constant competition with the corporations, leading to slashing of labour costs and services to the poor. agreement to provide legally enforceable rights to trade in all services. How will GATS affect our lives? Privatisation of services has impacts on how children are edu- cated, how the elderly are cared for, how workers are treated, even how we obtain water to drink. GATS rules will accelerate a trend towards privatisation of human services which is already underway in the United States. In a democracy, people should be able to decide what human services they want the government to provide. Under GATS, once a country agrees to put {OWS a service into its "schedule of specific commit- an ments", it is very difficult to change course. A coun- rp op try has a three-year window in which to withdraw a Z commitment and must agree on "any necessary com- 4 pensatory adjustment" for the withdrawal. Also, at the time the US makes a commitment, it can exempt existing state laws; but once the commitment is made, no states can pass similar laws without violat- ing GATS. LATEST RESEARCH sHows THAT WORRYING ABOUT CARCINOGENS CAUSED TEST MICE TO DEVELOP | CAMCER, + Education Already, corporations have made major inroads into our educational system. High schools are con- tracting with private businesses for guidance coun- sellors; textbooks are using corporate logos in their exercises; Zap Me! is offering schools free computer equipment in return for displaying a constant stream of advertisements on the screens; and Coca-Cola has made a deal with Colorado Springs schools to pro- vide US$8.4 million in funding over 10 years in exchange for the schools’ contracting to sell 70,000 cases of Coke products to students every year. According to David Kearns, the US Chair of 18 = NEXUS APRIL — MAY 2001 GATS is the first multilateral www.nexusmagazine.com