Poverty in Countries Which Joined WTO Has Grown

Recently there are a lot of discussions of the place and role of WTO in world politics and consequences of joining of this organization by the Russian Federation. In this connection it seems rather actual to analyze this problem.

World Trade Organization (WTO) - international organization created in 1995 for the purpose of liberalization of the international trade and regulation of trading-political relations of member states. WTO is the successor of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Created as temporal organization GATT existed from 1948 to 1995 till it was transformed into WTO. WTO includes such agreements as: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS), TRIMS (Agreement on Investments), agreement on agriculture, agreements on grants, agreements on the financial market and others. The theory of "free trade" is considered the basic ideology.

At the present time WTO is responsible for working out and introduction of new trading agreements, as well as it supervises observance of all agreement by members of the organization.

WTO isn't included into the structure of the United Nations Organization and doesn't submit to United Nations laws, WTO laws for the multinational corporation and member countries of WTO are above United Nations laws (ecological, the labor law of ILO the United Nations, etc.). All member countries of WTO accept obligations on performance of the basic agreements and legal documents.

Having studied activity of WTO, we see that contrary to the slogan "WTO eliminates the poverty" poverty in the countries which joined WTO has grown. Share of developing countries in the world trade - despite promises - not only hasn't grown but in certain cases has fallen. For example, after joining WTO the share of economically underdeveloped countries in the world trade (according to the report of the organization of the United Nations, UNCTAD Report 2002) fell.

To develop economy and industry is possible only "having opened itself" to the world market, WTO declares alongside with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB). However ideology of "the free markets" suppresses the fact that industrialization in the countries which are considered today developed and rich was carried out on the base of protectionist model, thus the state played big role in trade, investments and grants.

Successes of industrialization in the Asian states (for example, in Malaysia, Singapore, China) are also based not on models of free market but on strong role of the state. On the contrary, Asian countries which opened their markets to the foreign capital appeared in economic crisis.

WTO law is above legislation of the national states and provides unique possible way of development of the national economy. Members of WTO are obliged to liberalize, privatize, deregulate (to open for access of the multinational corporation and banks) spheres of their economy one after another. The state which joined WTO is no longer capable to change its policy as sovereign state. To refuse obligations to WTO on liberalization. To change conditions is possible only in three years after these agreement come into force. Only after payment of indemnifications to the trading suffered losses partners.

WTO has own court (Dispute Settlement Body). By means of this body WTO can force the national governments to cancel federal and regional laws. Thus once EU forbade import of GMO on its territory, then the USA (in interests of concerns of the USA) brought an action against EU to WTO. WTO court sentenced EU to large fines. Soon European Union surrendered, having resolved import of GMO but having ordered their marking.

WTO rules are not equal to all countries-participants. So WTO doesn't allow countries of periphery to protect their industries with customs duties and grants, while countries of center ("Seven") continue to pay grants, for example, in agriculture. The USA also entered quotas on steel to protect the American steel-smelting concerns from foreign competition. As it can be seen from WTO activity, it exists and functions not in interests of the countries-participants and not in interests of the development of economic well-being there but in interests of the transnational companies which are basically belong to the USA and Great Britain which have their dishonest advantage because of unlimited issue of money resources.

Actually the country-participant of WTO transfers control over all actives to those who have more than the rest money resources - de jure to the transnational companies, de facto to the USA and Great Britain. Thus, WTO exists in interests of the states ruling this organization. It's visible already today that ultimate goal of the Anglo-Saxon version of division of labor through WTO in global scale is nothing less than control over all economy of a planet. We want to think that the ruling elite of Russia realizes all consequences of joining of this organization which it tries to enter since 90s years.

Under the statement of the chairman of the government of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Moscow expects to join WTO till the end of 2011. Making public speech in Washington at the spring session 2011 of World Bank and IMF, A.Kudrin confirmed adherence of Moscow to a course on economy liberalization. He also noticed that joining WTO will accelerate growth of the Russian economy and inflow of investments to it. However, opinion of the government that economy liberalization will accelerate its development is not proven by researches of the activity of WTO and goal it pursues.

In this connection joining WTO caused big protest among scientists, writers, economists and politicians. The national Memorandum of Movement: "Stop WTO!' has been created. It seems that if to look objectively, joining WTO doesn't promise anything positive.

Thus during negotiations on the question of WTO it was at once demanded that tariffs for electricity and other power resources in our cold country come nearer to the world ones. It means full non-competitiveness of the Russian industry under all equal conditions. It's quite reasonable that after joining WTO Russia will be crowded by goods but not technologies. Today we have nothing to trade with WTO. We will sell oil, gas and wood without it. Rise in prices for electricity will affect social sphere as well having raised "living wage" level that surely will lead to deterioration of well-being of the population of Russia and increase profitableness of vital resources supervised by small quantity of people, expected result - social destabilization.

Supporters of joining WTO assert that Russia can fairly compete with developed countries, however who will win this "fair competition" of our peasant and worker in sheepskin coat with their peasant and worker in shorts?! Even "national property" "Gazprom" shows low competitiveness of domestic production, it failed to get fixed in the market of slate gas in the USA at free competition as the price of gas produced by the company taking into account all costs was above market almost twice.

According to Commercial and Industrial chamber of the Russian Federation only about 10% of the Russian enterprises are ready to work following the norms and rules of WTO. According to "analytical note" of even supporters of joining WTO (HSE and MEDT), 20 regions can't compete with import after Russia's joining World Trade Organization. Now Russia listens to the same sweet songs that were sung to Ukraine.

Ukraine joined WTO in 2007 and now European granary gradually increases purchases of what it always produced itself. For five years import of vegetables to Ukraine grew fourfold. As a member of the fraction Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defense Xenia Lyapina declared during round table, the Ukrainian business didn't feel advantages from membership of Ukraine in World Trade Organization. The statement that the Russian Federation doesn't have what our competitors in WTO have is also reasonable. There is no strong national bank system capable to give big credits for a long time and under low interests. There is no industrial policy. There is no high-grade National innovative system. There is no real struggle with destructive corruption. It is necessary to dispel a myth connected with this theme.

Supporters of joining WTO assert that if something happens the Russian nuclear shield will protect us from destructive consequences. Actually it won't help. As, having lost economic sovereignty, Russia won't possess full political sovereignty, so control over our "nuclear umbrella" can either change hands or be extremely reduced. Nuclear shield works only together with full political and economic sovereignty of the country.

Summing up reasonings on these problems we come to the following conclusions:

• WTO is international political-economical organization which primary goal is: to leave those who managed to join it before the beginning of 90s and those who made profit from the ruin of Soviet Union the richest and developed. As to the others - to leave them poor and undeveloped.
• There are no bases to believe that joining WTO will affect positively social and economic well-being of the country.
• Having joined WTO Russia loses part of its sovereignty as law- and free decision-making will be limited.
• In our opinion Russia shouldn't join WTO; we need own powerful, uniform system of acceptance of economic and political decisions.

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