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Clinton's proposals praised by labor groups
Thursday, December 2, 1999
By PAUL NYHAN
Labor leaders hailed President Clinton's support of eventually sanctioning nations that disregard core labor standards, but called on the president to guarantee that the future rules are enforced.
Clinton urged the World Trade Organization yesterday to create a working group to study the intersection of labor and trade issues, and to eventually establish a set of core labor standards.
Also see our WTO photo galleries.
"I believe it is a very healthy development," said Michigan Democratic Rep. David Bonior. "We need to ensure that when the rules are made . . . workers' rights, consumer rights, enforcement rights are not just an afterthought."
Even though Clinton endorsed eventually linking sanctions to labor standards, that doesn't guarantee that the WTO will follow with any decisive action this week.
Some developing nations bristle at the suggestion, saying existing international commitments address many of the problems.
"Labor standards or environmental standards can very well become a trade barrier," said Edgardo Angara, secretary of the Philippine's Department of Agriculture.
Officials of emerging economies also worry that simply creating a WTO working group would allow some nations to wield more draconian measures during future trade fights, according to James Howard, an economist at International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
"Clearly, developing countries see it (a working group) as a first step on a path towards a sanctions-based mechanism," Howard said.
Today, some trade ministers are expected to tackle the role of labor standards in international trade, one of the most controversial topics before the WTO, according to Howard.
While it's unclear what steps, if any, the trade ministers will take, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman said she is optimistic the ministers will make progress.
"I am very hopeful that we will able to come away from our deliberations, from our discussions here in Seattle, taking an historic step to say that yes we can embrace the concept of core labor standards," Herman said in a panel discussion on workers and trade.
Other officials, however, warned that Clinton has outlined an ambitious policy that other nations may not accept.
"I don't know that they will approve it," said Bonior, the second-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House.
Still, labor leaders claimed they've already scored several victories in Seattle. More than 20,000 labor members marched through the streets of Seattle to protest the WTO's labor actions.
In addition, Clinton's statement on labor standards was "the strongest statement in seven years" from the administration, according to Howard of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
P-I reporter Paul Nyhan can be reached at 206-448-8145 or paulnyhan@seattle-pi.com
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Nations would then agree to respect the standards in future trade agreements.
For more coverage, see our WTO index.
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