Report from WTO

Forwarded from Halliburton:

Subject: Report from WTO - Part IV

INSIDE (AND OUTSIDE) THE WTO

INSIDE

Renato Ruggiero, former Director General of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) spoke at a dinner for members of the Coalition for
Service Industries on Wednesday evening. His remarks were some of the best
made during the WTO Seattle Round but were off the record and will probably
not appear in print. Among his observations were:

* 1.7 billion people residing in 30 countries are trying to get into
the WTO at this time. The WTO is regarded by many as the organization
needed to deal with the globalization in which all nations now find
themselves.
* Labor and environmental issues already have forums in which to have
their issues heard. Their problem is that nothing works as well as the WTO.
That they want to move their issues into the WTO area is not only
understandable, it is flattering.
* (Concerning the demonstrations) "As long as reason rules over
emotions in this world, the WTO will prevail. The demonstrator's goals may
be right. I don't know. But, their aim is wrong. The WTO should not be
their target."
* The demonstrators have had the effect of making ministers even more
determined to finish their work.

The Seattle Round has had an interesting ancillary result. Environmental
groups previously in disagreement or acting independently, have taken the
occasion of the WTO meeting to unify. Greenpeace, The Sierra Club, Friends
of the Earth, The National Wildlife Federation, and The World Wildlife Fund
have been meeting before and during the Seattle Round. Their goal is to put
a sharp focus on what they want from the WTO. As of this writing, it is not
clear if they wish to put the WTO out of business or get their issues made
part of the negotiations but the latter is more likely. What ever they
decide, the coalition of these environmentalists will be much more likely to
be heard in the future.

Prior to the President's arrival, agriculture and other difficult issues
were making significant headway towards resolving differences. The
President arrived in Seattle on Wednesday amongst hopes that his visit would
have a positive effect on negotiations - but the opposite occurred. His
ability to communicate was put to good use as he spoke to all facets of the
WTO to include the demonstrators and, until he granted an interview with the
Financial Times, the best possible face was being put on WTO negotiations.
The Times article was published on Thursday, however, and it upset everyone.
In the interview, President Clinton stated that core standards on labor
should be adopted by the WTO and included in all trade agreements. If they
were not followed, they should be enforced with sanctions. Until these
remarks, the administration had maintained that only a working group on
labor should be established with the mission of analyzing links between
trade and labor. The idea of a working group was gaining steam until the
interview was published. The United States Trade Representative was rumored
to be very upset and the President's remarks met with almost universal
condemnation. Delegates from Japan and the European Union made strong
statements of disagreement as did most of the developing nations. Many see
the use of sanctions as the antithesis of the WTO's mission. There was
speculation that the remarks were made to assist Vice President Gore with
labor in his bid for the White House and that the President did not really
believe they would have any effect within the WTO. They did - and the
effect was all negative.

President Clinton made the rounds of a number of parties that evening to
include one hosted for the members of congress who had worked on the African
Trade bill. At one time, prior to the President's arrival, there were 30
members of Congress on the stage with Representative Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.)
and it was the broadest possible array of political beliefs. Individuals
representing the most liberal side of the Democrat party stood side by side
with individuals from the most conservative side of the Republican party,
all waiting for the President. When he didn't appear, the congressional
representatives left the stage and mingled with about 100 guests. It was a
lobbyist's dream! For 45 minutes, they talked, joked and lobbied while they
waited for the President. He arrived, made a predictable speech and left
the stage only to find that, for security reasons, he would have to remain
in the room awhile longer. It turned out to be one of the most festive
events of the week.

OUTSIDE

498 people were arrested as of Thursday morning. Delegates from
many countries were surprised that the arrests were so long in coming and
expressed significant displeasure with the turmoil in the streets. Third
world countries have been the most critical. Their concerns focus on
improving their economies They need infrastructure and financing before
they can worry about the plight of sea turtles in oceans that don't even
boarder their countries. Many of them do not disagree with America's basic
goals but they believe that rich countries ideals are standing in the way of
third world countries progress.

As days of disturbance continue, the humor of the demonstrations is
diminishing. What is left are hard core anarchists bent simply on
destruction. The positive side of all this is that the goodness of people
in Seattle is now beginning to show itself. King Country Councilman Brian
Derdowski took to the streets Tuesday evening, surveying the damage and
trying to mollify the crowds. He saw a man grab a sack of coffee at a
vandalized Starbucks and he approached him. Derdowski told the would-be
looter he really shouldn't take the bag of beans and the man dropped the
bag, hugged the Councilman and then walked away from the riots.

Nancy Woodland and her husband, both Seattle attorneys, saw the
violence on television on Tuesday. By Wednesday afternoon, they were in the
heart of town with Windex, Comet, SOS and elbow grease. They spent most of
the day cleaning the storefronts of other peoples businesses.

Terry Webb who owns a greeting card store, has seen his business
drop by 90%. When interviewed by a local newspaper, he simply smiled and
reached for one of his cards. He handed the reporter a card that read,
"Tough times are like speed bumps. They only slow you down for a little."

This will be my last report from Seattle.
Don

DAVE GRIBBIN
Vice President
Office of Government Affairs
Halliburton Company
1150 18th Street, N.W., Suite 200
Washington, D. C. 20036
(202) 223-0820