After Seattle

Trade has become a vital issue to leftists because they believe that free trade explains their dwindling power over the economy. When corporations can cross borders, unions and governments can no longer shackle them. Leftists must restrict trade if they are to achieve their overall economic objectives. More soft words from Clinton won’t assuage them. Neither will the greater “openness” in the WTO that so many pundits have called for in the wake of Seattle.

What wrecked the conference was Clinton’s attempts to appease the protectionists. His demand to create a “labor working group” was widely seen to be a first step toward punishing “unfair labor practices.” Of course, it is already permissible under the WTO to apply sanctions against slave labor. Other labor abuses have to be distinguished from practices that merely offend the sensibilities of comfortable Westerners but are necessary for the subsistence of poor countries, including relatively harsh working conditions and low pay. Actual abuses could be tackled in a variety of ways, including boycotts. But, if labor practices were included in trade talks, “abuses” would get attention only when sanctions helped companies in rich countries fend off competition from poor countries. The poor countries weren’t about to accede to Clinton’s demand.

About the Author

Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is the editor of National Review, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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Trade has become a vital issue to leftists because they believe that free trade explains their dwindling power over the economy. When corporations can cross borders, unions and governments can no longer shackle them. Leftists must restrict trade if they are to achieve their overall economic objectives. More soft words from Clinton won’t assuage them. Neither will the greater “openness” in the WTO that so many pundits have called for in the wake of Seattle.

What wrecked the conference was Clinton’s attempts to appease the protectionists. His demand to create a “labor working group” was widely seen to be a first step toward punishing “unfair labor practices.” Of course, it is already permissible under the WTO to apply sanctions against slave labor. Other labor abuses have to be distinguished from practices that merely offend the sensibilities of comfortable Westerners but are necessary for the subsistence of poor countries, including relatively harsh working conditions and low pay. Actual abuses could be tackled in a variety of ways, including boycotts. But, if labor practices were included in trade talks, “abuses” would get attention only when sanctions helped companies in rich countries fend off competition from poor countries. The poor countries weren’t about to accede to Clinton’s demand.