Whose Trade Organization?

"Going local does not mean walling off the outside world. It means nurturing local businesses which use local resources sustainably, employ local workers at decent wages, and serve primarily local consumers. It means becoming more self-sufficient, and less dependent on imports. Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations, and back to the community, where it belongs." Michael H. Shuman, from Going Local

Going Local makes a great case for local economies by, among other things, demonstrating their potentially democratic nature as opposed to an unaccountable, non-transparent supranational government, via the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO considers many democratically developed laws, which ensure minimum safety standards for workers or protect the environment, barriers to "free" trade - and thus illegal. Like national sovereignty? Forget UN black helicopters. This organization has already challenged even U.S. laws.

For more information:
Anti-WTO perspective from Global Exchange: http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wto/OpposeWTO.html

Pro-WTO perspective from the WTO itself: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/utw_chap1_e.pdf (may want to jump to page 11)

And, of course, Going Local