at are directed to reward corporations who use domestic materials, hire local residents or use environmentally safe practices are illegal under the WTO. California recently created a “Buy California” bill that would have given small local businesses an economical advantage. The states governor vetoed this bill because according to the WTO, it was illegal. Under this organizations rules, developing countries can’t follow the same policies that developed countries follow. One such policy is protecting domestic industries until they are large enough to compete internationally. (globalexchange) How are these countries ever going to develop into their full potential under such unfair regulations?The fact is that free trade is not helping most of the world, therefore the WTO is not working. From 1960 to 1998 the world saw the most rapid growth in global investment and trade. During this time the inequality of trade and investment also grew internationally and domestically. The UN reports that 86 percent of the world’s resources were consumed by the richest 20 percent of the world’s population. At the same time, 14 percent of the world’s resources were used by the poorest 80 percent of the population. By opening countries to foreign investment the WTO worsened these conditions. As a result it is now easier for production to be directed where labor is cheap, the people are exploited and environmental costs are low. First world corporations cut jobs and wages and justify doing so by claiming that they have to in order to be competitive on an international level. (globalexchange)The WTO has created a supranational court system. This system has the power to levy large fines on countries in order to force compliance with the WTO rulings. This replaced national governments with a corporate-backed government system. The European Union has banned beef raised with artificial growth hormones for the pas...
