A Luncheon Briefing

The trade ministers of the 134 member nations comprising the World Trade Organization (WTO) will convene in Seattle on November 30 to create a framework for launching a new round of global negotiations to reduce trade barriers and thereby expand international commerce. As the international organization which deals with the global rules of trade between nations, the WTO is expected to launch negotiations covering agriculture, industry, and services, besides further refining an array of international fair-trade rules. However, the final agenda has not yet been announced and such issues as the scope and procedures of the proposed new trade round are still under discussion.

A ministerial conference such as the upcoming one in Seattle is the top decision-making level at the WTO, which was founded in 1994 and is the successor of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (the GATT), which was created in 1948. This meeting -- the organization’s third and the first to take place in the United States -- will focus on the need to follow-up on the last round of global trade negotiations, the Uruguay Round, which started in 1986 and ended in 1994. Previous rounds have concentrated on the movement of manufactured goods among countries and the tariffs, quotas, and other barriers that impede it.

Advocates for the WTO (and previously for the GATT) say it is helping to support the world economy by bringing down barriers to trade all over the globe. At risk, argue WTO defenders, is a system that helped international trade grow by 37 percent since 1994, to $6.5 trillion last year. The United States itself exported more than $600 billion in goods and $260 billion in services in 1998. According to the U.S. government, overall exports accounted for 1.3 million new jobs between 1994 and 1998. Thirty new countries have joined the WTO since its founding in 1994, and 30 more -- most notably, China -- are currently seeking admittance.

But critics believe the WTO is using its power as an arbiter to undermine laws passed by various countries to promote health, food safety, environmental protection, and better working conditions. And the developing nations often charge that they have not shared as much in the benefits of freer trade as the industrialized countries.

Ambassador Samuels will examine these and other issues which are likely to be raised in Seattle at the end of this month.

About Michael A. Samuels

Michael A. Samuels is founder and president of Samuels International Associates, Inc., (SIA) an international business consulting firm that specializes in international trade and public affairs. He is also Managing Director of Global Trade Resources (GTR), which provides technical assistance to developing countries in the area of trade-related capacity building.

Dr. Samuels has served as Deputy United States Trade Representative and U.S. Ambassador to the GATT. He has also served as U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone, as well as having held other positions in the U.S. Department of State. His non-governmental experience includes: Executive Director for Third World Studies and Director for Africa Programs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, International Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Senior Vice President of Hill and Knowlton, Inc. He was directly involved with the efforts that culminated in the creation of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and served as founder and chief executive officer of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), one of the original entities of the NED.

Dr. Samuels holds a Ph.D. in African History from Columbia University and a BA from Yale University. He is the author of a number of books and articles on world trade, foreign policy, African countries and issues, Portugal, and third-world issues. He is an avid philumenist.

Sponsoring Organizations

Hibernia National Bank

Louisiana Department of Economic Development

Louisiana Maritime International Chamber of Commerce

Louisiana State University, Office of International Programs

World Trade Center of New Orleans

In Cooperation With

Baton Rouge Center for World Affairs

City of New Orleans, Office of International Relations

Consular Corps of New Orleans

New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center

Foreign Relations Association

International Trade Council/Red River Region

Louisiana District Export Council

Louisiana International Trade Center/SBDC

Louisiana International Trade Commission

New Orleans Media Center

New Orleans Technology Council

Traffic & Transportation Club of Greater New Orleans

United Nations Association of Greater New Orleans

World Trade Club of Greater New Orleans

Registration Fee: $22 for members of the sponsoring organizations and $27 for non-members.