TUs and NGOs challenge GATS : regional conference on GATS April 11-12, 2005.

Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) Union Network International-Asia Pacific Regional Organization (UNI-APRO) Union Network International - Philippine Liaison Council (UNI-PLC) Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC).

Includes references.

It is with great pleasure that we are publishing the proceedings of People's Stakes in the GATS Talks: Challenges for Trade Unions and NGOs. This regional conference was organized by the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA), Union Network International - Asia Pacific Regional Office (UNI-APRO), Union Network International - Philippine Liaison Council (UNI-PLC) and Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC). Through this endeavor we seek to answer pressing issues surrounding the GATS debate and: a) do an update on the state of the GATS talk, b) clarify the position of key stakeholders in the ongoing and forthcoming GATS/WTO talks, and c) develop a labor-NGO policy agenda which can serve as a basis for dialogue with government negotiators and regional institutions. Compared to the issues on agriculture, tariffs, intellectual property rights and investments, the liberalization of trade in services under the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has not been subjected to close and rigorous scrutiny by trade unions and civil society entitles or non-governmental organizations. --Foreword of the book