GATS Visa gains momentum
GATS Visa gains momentum
Date: Monday, January 16, 2006 5:53 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
January 16, 2006 No. 1401
The 2005 WTO GATS Doha Round of negotiations in Hong Kong concluded last
December so I decided to check on the progress they are making towards
liberalizing guest worker visas. While they didn't come to an agreement,
and there are major conflicts between developing countries like India and
developed countries like the USA, they did made progress towards committing
countries to a "GATS visa". In case you haven't heard of the GATS visa,
George McClure wrote a very good article about it in 2004. The title of his
article says it all, and explains why you should be very concerned about
what transpired during these trade negotiations.
http://www.todaysengineer.org/2005/Jan/GATS.asp
GATS Mode 4: Opening World Service Markets Could Replace H-1B and L-1
Programs
In Hong Kong, the WTO Ministerial Conference agreed to amend the GATS
agreement with "Annex C". The wording is quite subtle, and it's necessary
to read other WTO documents to connect the dots enough to understand what
they are up to.
In summation, the WTO is attempting to set up a universal visa that will be
used by all GATS members. It is referred to as the "GATS visa" and
supersedes all other visas such as H-1B and L-1 and will not have a
numerical limit. Conditions on which a visa can be issued to guest workers
will be liberalized from previous WTO proposals. The most alarming part of
Annex C is that it mandates "substantial reduction of economic needs
tests". Simply put, this means that employers could get GATS visas without
justifications, and without regard to the economic impact on the domestic
workforce. In essence the WTO is proposing is a worldwide system of global
labor arbitrage that allows employers to move workers wherever they want in
order to force down labor costs.
Under this type of agreement the WTO will have the power to legislate the
immigration policies of member nations. Immigration disputes between
nations will be decided by international tribunals - not the Congress of
the United States. The only exception to this new jurisdiction would be if
a member nation could convince the WTO that the increased immigration was
affecting their national security.
So who how many guest workers will be affected? Don't ask the WTO because
they don't know! One thing for sure, it will be a lot:
In the world there were 185 million migrants. Of those,
the International Labour Organization estimated that 85
million were people who migrated for work. Within those
85 million there was a further, unmeasured subset of people
who migrated for work temporarily, and within that subset
there was yet a further subset which qualified as mode 4
movement. The actual numbers were unknown and probably not
nearly as significant as the 185 million worldwide, but the
value and potential economic contribution of that movement
was quite substantial.
You may be wondering who in this equation is caring for the interests of
American workers. The answer is absolutely nobody! As explained by WTO
documents, there are two groups of people concerned with guest worker
visas.
1) Employers who no longer want visa elgibility to be determined on the
basis of whether workers will be used for manufacturing or services, or
whether domestic workers are available to do the work. They want no
restrictions on the type of "natural persons" that they can move around the
world for the purposes of indentured servitude.
2) Unions who are concerned about protecting the interests and the rights
of migrant workers, "and particularly those of lower skilled workers." In
the WTOs vision of the world the unions aren't concerned with the plight of
the American middle class as much as they are about low paid sweatshop
workers in countries like Cambodia. Perhaps the WTO is correct considering
that the AFL/CIO supports open border immigration policies.
***** WTO Definitions *****
To fully understand McClure's article, and to understand the excerpts that
I included from WTO documents, it's useful to understand the terminology
used by the WTO. Like all big organizations they have developed their own
vernacular. Here is a quick guide, and of course you can get the official
politically correct version at the WTO website. The definitions below are
from a previous newsletter, so feel free to skip over them if you are
already familiar with the terms.
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/cbt_course_e/c1s3p1_e.htm
GATS TRAINING MODULE: CHAPTER 1
Basic Purpose and Concepts
*** WTO ***
World Trade Organization. The WTO is an international organization of
globalists that deals with the rules of trade between nations. Not only
does the WTO make policy, it has enforcement powers through world tribunals
and by imposing trade sanctions.
*** GATS ***
The WTO manages a worldwide agreement called the General Agreement on Trade
in Services (GATS). This agreement was put into force in January 2000 to
oversee multilateral trade negotiations. GATS was designed to control trade
in worldwide services, and the people that provide the services. Some of
the services that readers of this newsletter are involved in that are
included in GATS are: engineering, architectural, medical (doctors and
nurses), computer IT, science, real estate, management, marketing,
telecommunication, construction, education (K-12 and higher education),
financial, banking, tourism, and transportation by ground, air, water, and
space.
*** Natural Persons ***
The term "natural persons" is an Orwellian euphemism used by the WTO to
describe working class people who are considered to be nothing more than
mere commodities. The WTO divides the world into two groups: natural
persons who provide services, and employers who need services. Most of the
people who run the WTO are not natural persons, they are ultra-rich
corporate entities.
*** Mode 4 ***
The four modes of the WTO are concerned with the movement and free-flow of
commodities across national boundaries. Mode 4 is very important to
understand because the commodity to be moved are "natural persons" that
travel across national boundaries. Mode 4 seeks to eliminate all barriers
to the movement of "natural persons", because restrictions due to
immigration are viewed as impediments to the trade of services. Simply put,
Mode 4 seeks to eliminate all immigration laws so that any willing employee
can immigrate to work for any willing employer, regardless of location or
nationality. (I'm not sure how much President Bush reads, but somebody
obviously told him about Mode 4!) Mode 4 is where you will find
requirements for temporary guest workers such as H-1B and L-1, as well as
liberalization of permanent residency status for migrant workers. Full
implementation of Mode 4 will commoditize all of the world's workers and
will force them into global arbitrage - a situation valued by the
power-elite at the WTO.
Documents Used for this newsletter
For the WTO documents, go to this search engine and plug in the document
number.
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Sixth Session
Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005
WT/MIN(05)/W/3
7 December 2005
RECLAIMING DEVELOPMENT
IN THE WTO DOHA DEVELOPMENT ROUND
WT/COMTD/W/145
1 December 2005
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Sixth Session
Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005
WT/MIN(05)/32
Council for Trade in Services
Special Session
TN/S/W/57
6 December 2005
Council for Trade in Services
Special Session
TN/S/M/16
28 October 2005
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 26, 29 AND 30 SEPTEMBER 2005
http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en/homepage/work_permits/applying_for_a_work/gats_-_uk_contractors.html
General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) - UK contractors
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Sixth Session
Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005
WT/MIN(05)/W/3
7 December 2005
(d) Mode 4
(i) new or improved commitments on the categories of Contractual Services
Suppliers, Independent Professionals and Others, de-linked from commercial
presence, to reflect inter alia:
- removal or substantial reduction of economic needs tests
- indication of prescribed duration of stay and possibility of renewal, if
any
(ii) new or improved commitments on the categories of Intra-corporate
Transferees and Business Visitors, to reflect inter alia:
- removal or substantial reduction of economic needs tests
- indication of prescribed duration of stay and possibility of renewal, if
any
inter alia, the objective of sustainable development, resources
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
RECLAIMING DEVELOPMENT
IN THE WTO DOHA DEVELOPMENT ROUND
WT/COMTD/W/145
1 December 2005
Submission by Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Pakistan, the
Philippines,
South Africa and Venezuela to the Committee on Trade and Development
the greatest gains can be made for all in mode 4
20. Perhaps the greatest gains from the Doha Round can be made for both
developed and developing countries from serious efforts to liberalize the
temporary movement of natural persons (mode 4), from developing to
developed member countries. For example, one study reveals that an
increase in developed countries' quotas on the inward movement of temporary
workers equivalent to 3 per cent of their work forces would generate an
estimated increase in world welfare of over $150 billion per annum. To
date however developed countries have been reluctant to make any
significant commitments in the WTO on mode 4 relaxation of restrictions on
temporary entry. We urge developed countries to seize yet another
opportunity to unlock the potential to increase global growth and the
welfare of all countries.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Sixth Session
Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005
WT/MIN(05)/32
18 December 2005
The liberalization of the movement of natural persons or mode 4 in the area
of services (GATS) is also a high priority for developing countries.
Discussions on this subject have been constantly avoided and delayed by the
developed countries. No progress has been made. We find this regrettable
given the potential for mode 4 liberalization to directly contribute in
increasing the welfare of our people, while at the same time fostering
economic growth in developed countries.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Council for Trade in Services
Special Session
TN/S/W/57
6 December 2005
The following communication, dated 5 December 2005, from the delegation of
Pakistan, is being circulated to the Members of the Council for Trade in
Services.
1. One of the principal gains from the services negotiations in the current
round for developing countries lies in Mode 4 liberalization. Our
stakeholders have made it clear that they expect substantial commitments in
Mode 4 and we have reflected this view in our requests to trading partners.
Moreover, commercially meaningful commitments in Mode 4 are central to
realizing the developmental benefits in the current round of services
negotiations. The Doha Work Program, as well as the 2004 July Package,
recognize the importance attached to this issue.
2. We reiterate that Mode 4 can be seen as a facilitative mechanism to
match world labour demand with labour supply. For Mode 4 commitments to
effectively allow developing countries to realize their export potential,
free movement of temporary workers is required across the globe, rather
than being confined to any particular geographical region. Mode 4 service-
providers may move to host countries with ease for a short period of time
and make an assured return to home countries.
3. Some Members, during bilaterals and in other fora, have referred to
difficulties in making Mode 4 commitments. We feel that the concerns
raised can be remedied. The following paragraphs list the issues raised by
some Members and possible solutions that may address these concerns, in
order to advance the discussions of liberalization under Mode 4. This paper
is a continuation of earlier developing country papers presented in this
body and an attempt to address the concerns raised by Members vis-`-vis
their reluctance in liberalizing in Mode 4, for further discussion.
(i) Non Trade / Security related concerns:
4. A few Members have voiced non-trade security-related concerns as a
hindrance to making commitments in Mode 4. Nothing in the GATS prevents
Members from protecting their essential security interests. A Member has
the right to depart from GATS specific commitments and other obligations as
security exceptions if there are valid concerns without going through the
waiver or Article XXI procedures.
(ii) Return home of temporary service-providers:
5. Another major concern is that such temporary workers, once in the host
country, can stay on permanently. A possible solution is that such
temporary Mode 4 workers move on the basis of GATS visa. Home countries
can keep a data-base of all GATS visa workers who would report of their
departure and arrival back home. Another measure could be that the visa
holders may report to the home-country embassy in the host country on
arrival and at regular intervals during their stay and on departure by
phone or mail. Another less intrusive possibility could be that the
employer of the worker in the host country report to the concerned
authorities of the arrival and departure of the Mode 4 worker. If the home
country does not have an embassy in the host country and if even more
stringent assurance is required, the possibility of revalidation of the
GATS visa at intervals during the period of stay may be debated. Any such
measure will ensure that the temporary workers are monitored and definitely
return home on expiry of their GATS visa. Such measures are in accordance
with paragraph 4 of the Annex on Movement of Natural Persons Supplying
Services under the GATS.
(iii) Definition of temporary:
6. Some Members are finding it difficult to distinguish 'Mode 4 temporary
stay' from 'permanent migration', even though the GATS' Annex on Movement
of Natural Persons states that it shall not apply to measures regarding
citizenship, residence or employment on permanent basis. Consequently, the
definition of 'temporary stay' is another contentious issue. Firstly, some
Members have scheduled time periods for categories of Mode 4 workers in
their respective schedules which makes Mode 4 movement distinct from
permanent migration. Secondly, if the concept of the GATS visa (detailed
in ii) is agreed upon in practice by Members, there will be no need to have
a specific definition for 'temporary' as it will ensure that workers moving
on the basis of such visas only enter temporarily anyway.
7. To conclude, we reiterate that Mode 4 movement does not mean migrating
on a permanent basis or seeking permanent entry to the labour market of a
host country. The GATS specifically excludes permanent migration as
clearly stated in paragraph 2 of the Annex on Movement of Natural Persons
Supplying Services under the GATS. A Paper published by the Migration
Policy Institute also indicates that effective use of Mode 4 has the
capacity to control immigration. Members are therefore called upon to make
meaningful commitments in Mode 4 in their horizontal schedules of
commitments to provide transparency and predictability to Mode 4
service-providers and liberalization gains to developing countries.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Council for Trade in Services
Special Session
TN/S/M/16
28 October 2005
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 26, 29 AND 30 SEPTEMBER 2005
10. As for the trade and migration context, she noted that the mode 4
context excluded consideration of migration-related issues such as the
granting of citizenship, visa policies and practices. Migration
agreements, regulations and experience were nonetheless relevant, because
mode 4 movement was a subset within a subset within a subset of migratory
movements. In the world there were 185 million migrants. Of those, the
International Labour Organization estimated that 85 million were people who
migrated for work. Within those 85 million there was a further, unmeasured
subset of people who migrated for work temporarily, and within that subset
there was yet a further subset which qualified as mode 4 movement. The
actual numbers were unknown and probably not nearly as significant as the
185 million worldwide, but the value and potential economic contribution of
that movement was quite substantial.
12. As for the perspectives of employers and trade unions, their views were
well known. Employers were looking primarily for more liberalized and
predictable rules for the admission of foreign workers. At the seminar
they had expressed the view that, for the purposes of their needs and
interests, the distinction between services and manufacturing sectors was
artificial, as was the distinction between temporary and permanent
movement. In contrast, trade unions were focused on protecting the
interests and the rights of migrant workers, and particularly those of
lower skilled workers. There were currently very few mode 4 commitments
related to lower skilled workers; nonetheless, possible further expansion
of the commitments might cover a broader range of both sectors or levels of
skill.
15. To draw on the lessons learnt in managing temporary labour migration,
Julia Nielson, then of the OECD, and currently of the World Bank, had
suggested that templates could be developed. These could look, firstly, at
the question of transparency of entry requirements, ensuring that entry
requirements and procedures be known and available to potential service
suppliers and that information was exchanged between the trade and
migration officials. Second, templates could include flexible access
commitments, linking the level of access to unemployment ratios in the
domestic market, either by sectors or with adjustable quotas. Thirdly,
templates could comprise a model schedule or GATS visa, to improve
predictability; without suggesting that all countries develop and adopt
the same migration legislation to address mode 4, some common elements
could be found that would apply across the board and effectively serve as
benchmarks. Fourthly, the question of enforcement and return guarantees
could be addressed by such templates, to ensure that temporary stay
remained temporary, possibly drawing from elements contained in bilateral
and regional agreements. Finally, the templates would cover the
coordination between trade and migration policy officials to keep the
dialogue going. It was suggested that such templates could be of relevance
in the mode 4 context so that market access would be granted to all Members
that met the criteria identified therein. In the IOM context, templates
were viewed as something that could be developed outside the mode 4 context
to promote better management of migration, which ultimately might also
benefit WTO discussions.
94. The representative of Pakistan introduced her delegation's paper
contained in Job(05)/210 on mode 4 related issues. She reiterated that the
purpose of the paper was to clarify a few fears or misconceptions about
mode 4, which Pakistan felt were proving to be a major hindrance in
encouraging Members to take mode 4 commitments. She noted that these
fears frequently arose in Pakistan's consultations with its trading
partners and its stake-holders. The first was a non-trade or
security-related concern. She pointed out that there was nothing in the
GATS which prevented Members from protecting their essential security
interests. A Member had the right to depart from GATS specific commitments
and other obligations as security exceptions if there were valid concerns,
without going through the waiver or Article XXI procedures. The second
concern was the return of temporary service providers to their home
country. The paper provided some ideas and solutions. She noted that
these were not new and that she had consulted with others when formulating
these ideas. One of the possible solutions was for temporary mode 4
workers to move on the basis of a GATS visa. The idea was that the home
country could keep a database of this particular kind of visa which would
be issued to workers around the globe. When such temporary workers moved
out they would report their departure and, when they returned, they would
report their arrival back home. Another such measure could be that visa
holders might report to the home country and the host country at regular
intervals. To avoid an overly onerous procedure, they could report by
telephone or mail or some other similar means. Such measures would permit
the embassy to tell migrant workers, for example, that two or three weeks
remained before the end of their visa and they needed to prepare to leave.
A similar but less intrusive measure could be that the employer of the mode
4 worker would inform his regulatory agency of the arrival and the
departure of the mode 4 worker. As not all Members might have the presence
of all embassies, the option of revalidating the visa at regular intervals
could be considered, if considered necessary by the host countries. She
underlined that she hoped the paper would generate debate and help inform
all Members that there were solutions to mode 4 related concerns. She also
noted that all these measures were within the scope of the GATS. She
highlighted that paragraph 4 of the Annex on the Movement of Natural
Persons did not prevent a Member from applying measures to regulate the
entry of natural persons provided that such measures were not applied in a
manner which nullified or impaired the benefits accruing to any Member.
She noted that some stake-holders had said that they thought a definition
of temporary was needed. She stressed that many Members in their schedules
have already indicated periods of stay. These varied from a few weeks to
five years. In such a case, there was no need to define temporary. Each
Member could define temporary as it wished. Moreover, if there was
agreement on some specific instrument, such as the GATS visa, there would
not be any need for the definition of temporary. She reiterated that mode
4 movement did not mean migrating on a permanent basis or seeking permanent
entry to the labour market of the host country. She hoped that she had
cleared some of the misconceptions and invited Members to add any ideas
they had on these three issues.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en/homepage/work_permits/applying_for_a_work/gats_-_uk_contractors.html
General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) - UK contractors
Service sectors, occupations or industries for which GATS work permits can
be issued
Permits are issued for work on service contracts in the following sectors:
Legal services
Accountancy services
Bookkeeping services
Taxation advisory services
Architectural services, urban planning and landscape architectural services
Engineering services*
Integrated engineering services*
Advertising*
Management consulting services*
Services relating to management consulting*
Technical testing and analysis services*
Translation services*
Site investigation services*
GATS work permits cannot be issued for occupations or professions that fall
outside these sectors.
Economic needs test
You will need to complete a GATSB form, which we will send to you once the
initial work permit application from the overseas employer has been
received.
For applications within the service sectors 7 marked*, you (the UK
contractor) will need to justify why the contract was awarded to a non-EU
service supplier. This is known as an 'economic needs test'.
You should demonstrate that the contract awarded has been advertised in a
fair and open manner, in a relevant publication freely available throughout
the EU. The advertisement should relate to the specific contract awarded.
The award criteria should not be so restrictive that the contract may only
be awarded to a specific contractor, or to a contractor from a specific
country. However, where the contract requires very specific cultural or
specialist skills, evidence for these requirements should be provided.
You will also need to explain why you have decided to award the contract to
a service provider outside the EU. The reasons for doing so should be
consistent with requirements for the service specified in any tender for
the contract.
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