International Relationships:
WTO - GATS - TRADE
"UNI unions must wade in"

Essential GATS Quotations

Global Unions Statement to the 6th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Hong Kong, 13-18 December 2005  

UNI World Executive Statement on WTO-GATS
2003: En - Fr - Es - De - Sv
2002: En - Fr - Es - De

GATS – ACT NOW !
En - Es - Fr - De - Sv
26.11.02
GATS – ACT NOW (Follow-Up)
10.01.03
GATS - UNI guide 15.04.03
Global Unions statement on GATS negotiations 06.06.02

05.10.2006 Core Labour Standards (CLS) at the WTO – What Have Trade Ministers Said? (revised) 31.08.2006 The WTO trade negotiations - continued vigilance needed 27.03.2006 Unions set priorities for the WTO negotiations 16.03.2006 New alert on GATS trade round

Service workers all over the world are feeling the effects of profound structural changes. Many of those changes are being propelled by international trade agreements, most notably the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and its follow-on agreements in telecommunications and financial services.
Negotiations to further liberalise international trade in services started at the WTO in February 2000. Moreover, a new round of comprehensive trade negotiations was launched by the WTO in 2001. Unions need to "wade in" on this issue.
Alongside the WTO’s world-wide system, there are dozens of bilateral and regional trade agreements, granting countries preferential access to each other’s markets. Regional agreements range from the highly integrated European Union to much looser arrangements. Besides the EU, the best-known are NAFTA, which links Canada, Mexico and the USA, Mercosur in South America, and ASEAN in East Asia. Very controversial is US President Bush's initiative on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
This Internet page contains information that will help UNI affiliates to press their case with governments, employers and the media.

UNI keeps its affiliates informed about developments in services trade through this site, UNI circulars and UNI’s regular publications. Up-to-date news on general trade issues is provided by other organisations. A reliable and comprehensive source is BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest, published by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).

Documents: see our documents' database

Go to: About Us - News Desk - Affiliates Only - Welcome