Hoffa Says WTO Trade Talks Must End With Collapse of Doha

Last update: 7:16 p.m. EDT July 29, 2008
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Official Statement of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa released the following statement today about the collapse of the so-called "Doha round" of global trade talks in Geneva:

"Once again, the Doha round of global trade discussions have collapsed -- a glaring sign that it is time to finally let the World Trade Organization negotiations officially end. It is time to replace the failed WTO model with a new and fair model of trade that benefits the majority of workers in the United States and across the globe.

"All workers have seen what these failed trade policies have done to our jobs, food safety, product safety, wages, the environment and the middle class -- and they have had enough.

"The Teamsters were on the front lines protesting the WTO in Seattle and in Hong Kong. And we're continuing the fight today. It's an outrage that labor rights and the environment are not even a consideration at the WTO. Just this past weekend, the United States once again got desperate and actually suggested the possibility of negotiating on 'Mode 4,' which would essentially be making immigration policy at the WTO. This is not just unacceptable, but it is unconstitutional.

"The time is now for new trade policies that do not kill our jobs and destroy our middle class. Our trade policies must provide access to other countries' markets and protect our resources and our jobs at home. That benefits all workers -- not just the CEOs of multinational corporations."
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/h ... &dist=hppr