<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Georgia;
panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3;}
@font-face
{font-family:TimesNewRomanPSMT;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.msonormal0, li.msonormal0, div.msonormal0
{mso-style-name:msonormal;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle20
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1027" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p style='background:#EFEFEF'>Morning trade mentioned the letter I shared about last week. Our press release is below and the letter is attached. BTW, the talks should not be called “e-commerce” – that is an old term that is still being used to try to give people the impression that it’s a small issues about online shopping, when the rules they are proposing would rewrite the rules of the global economy in a WTO 2.0. The talks on digital trade are MUCH more comprehensive. Also it wasn’t just “labor unions” – it was nearly every global union federation that works on trade, including ITUC, UNI Global Union, PSI, <span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRomanPSMT",serif'>International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) </span>, Education International, IUF, the big regional groups like East Africa Trade Union Confederation and EPSU; and about 30 other national trade unions from around the world. <span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt;line-height:18.0pt'><b><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>NOT EVERYONE'S A FAN OF E-COMMERCE TALKS: </span></b><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black'>A broad group that includes labor unions, consumer advocates and environmental organizations sent a letter this morning to World Trade Organization member nations expressing a "profound and urgent opposition" to trade talks that would establish new rules on digital trade.</span><span style='font-size:15.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Fear of concentration of power: </span></b><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black'>The <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5215652a199b1314af2fb8edacd3289899fb3a39ff22f86ae38cbc381308f489255993902e569eb5f4f52cb54b33bdf" target="_blank">letter<span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></a>signed by more than 300 groups argues that binding rules in the agreement would allow big tech firms to "consolidate its exploitative business model." It also raised issues on labor rights and tax avoidance by such firms</span><b><span style='font-size:15.0pt;mso-fareast-language:JA'>. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none;border:none;padding:0in'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-autospace:none'><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter" />
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0" />
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0" />
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1" />
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2" />
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth" />
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight" />
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1" />
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2" />
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth" />
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0" />
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight" />
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0" />
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" />
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t" />
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="cid:image003.png@01D4E7FA.104EB1A0" style='position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;margin-left:0;margin-top:0;width:329.25pt;height:81pt;z-index:251658240;mso-wrap-edited:f;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:left;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical-relative:line;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0' o:allowoverlap="f">
<v:imagedata src="cid:image001.png@01D4E92E.20784F70" o:title="image001.png@01D4E7FA" />
<w:wrap type="square"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><img width=439 height=108 style='width:4.5729in;height:1.125in' src="cid:image001.png@01D4E92E.20784F70" align=left hspace=12 alt="cid:image003.png@01D4E7FA.104EB1A0" v:shapes="_x0000_s1026"><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:20.0pt;mso-fareast-language:JA'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Release: April 1, 2019<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><u><span style='font-size:11.5pt'>Contact</span></u><span style='font-size:11.5pt'>: Deborah </span>James, <a href="mailto:djames@cepr.net">djames@cepr.net</a>, +1.202.441.6917<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Our World Is Not for Sale (<span style='font-size:11.5pt'>OWINFS) network</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;mso-fareast-language:JA'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;mso-fareast-language:JA'>More than 300 Civil Society Groups Call on Governments to Reject Digital Trade Talks in the World Trade Organization (WTO)</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;mso-fareast-language:JA'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-autospace:none'><b><span style='mso-fareast-language:JA'>As thousands gather for “UNCTAD eCommerce Week” in Geneva, just weeks after some countries launched talks on “e-commerce,” groups warn governments of serious dangers and urge them to instead focus on transforming global trade rules for shared prosperity for all</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='mso-fareast-language:JA'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-language:JA'>(Geneva) Today, 315 civil society organizations – including global union federations, development advocates, consumer organizations, and environmental groups – from more than 90 countries delivered a letter (available in <a href="http://www.ourworldisnotforsale.net/2019/Digital_trade_2019-04-01-en.pdf">English</a>, <a href="http://www.ourworldisnotforsale.net/2019/Digital_trade_2019-04-01-es.pdf">Spanish</a>, and <a href="http://www.ourworldisnotforsale.net/2019/Digital_trade_2019-04-01-fr.pdf">French</a> in PDF) to members of the WTO. In it, they express their “profound and urgent opposition to these proposed negotiations which, if concluded, could result in the full liberalization of the entire (digital) economy, and thus represent back door attempt to achieve a “WTO 2.0”</span><span style='color:black'>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>The WTO membership rejected displacing the “development agenda” in the WTO for a new agenda on digital trade at the last Ministerial meeting in December 2017 in Argentina. In spite of this, a number of countries decided to launch negotiations in March 2019. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The letter noted that “[w]hile the rhetoric surrounding “e-commerce” highlights the opportunities for developing country entrepreneurs, having binding rules on the still-emerging digital economy would severely constrain the ability of countries to develop their economies in the future. It would accelerate the global disadvantaging of workers and small enterprises in all countries vis-à-vis large corporations that characterizes the current global economy.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The groups argued that binding rules as proposed in the WTO “would enable Big Tech to consolidate its exploitative business model, including gaining rights to access markets globally; extracting and controlling personal, social, and business data around the world; locking-in deregulation and evading future regulation; accessing an unlimited supply of labor stripped of its rights; expanding its power through monopolies; and evading the payment of taxes. The proposed rules thus represent a grave threat to development, human rights, labor, and shared prosperity around the world, and are the opposite of the policies needed to rein in the power of Big Tech.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>The letter was coordinated by the global Our World Is Not for Sale (OWINFS) network, members of which have been studying the proposed rules for the last several years, and who will be holding a series of six different events at the UNCTAD eCommerce Week. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='mso-fareast-language:JA'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>“Developing countries must develop their own agenda for digital industrialization. They must not advance the “e-commerce rules” that were developed by TNCs like Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Alibaba in their own interests. Other models can more equitably distribute the benefits of the digital economy while reinforcing human rights,” noted the letter. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>It concluded that “all countries likewise urgently need policies to constrain the behavior of these corporate behemoths, not to further entrench their outsized monopoly power. A pro-development outcome cannot be achieved in e-commerce talks because the rules and policies needed for digital industrialization are the opposite of WTO rules, which give companies rights while constraining the role of the state in regulating.”</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b> </b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b>###</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>The Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) global network of NGOs and social movements works for a sustainable, socially just, and democratic multilateral trading system. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><a href="http://www.ourworldisnotforsale.net">www.ourworldisnotforsale.net</a></span> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>