CTU Economist off to WTO talks in Mexico

CTU economist, Peter Conway, is a member of the New Zealand delegation travelling to Cancun in Mexico for the WTO Ministerial Meeting.

He will be staying at the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Hotel in Cancun from September 7-16 and can be contacted for a union perspective on the trade negotiations.

Peter says the CTU supports the government’s key aim of removing agricultural subsidies by the United States, the European Union and other OECD countries so that New Zealand and developing countries have better access for their agricultural exports.

However the CTU does not want to see concessions in other areas, particularly industrial tariffs if they would damage the textile, clothing and footwear industries, and in the “new issues” of investment and competition, in order to promote agricultural access.

Unions will also be saying that trade agreements must include recognition of ILO Conventions on child labour, forced labour, discrimination and the right to belong to a union and to bargain collectively.

The CTU will also highlight the major concerns it has about the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

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