Activities of Jean-Luc SCHAFFHAUSER related to 2018/2084(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
WTO: the way forward (debate) FR
Amendments (7)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. RecallConsiders that trade liberalisation is not positive, per se, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalita process, amplified by the single market and the single currency, which strengthens strong countries, and that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules- based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the weakens those that are already weak; recalls that the WTO is the successor to the GATT, a private lobbying organisation founded by the United States to promote free trade as the generally accepted principle at a time when such trade, coupled with the dollarisation of the world economy arising from lend-lease agreements, the Marshall Plan and the Bretton Woods agreements, was in the interests of the USA, in order to secure its domination of the world economy; believes that this structural defect of an organisation based on an ideology concealing State interests renders the prospect of 'democratisation' of the WTO illusory;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for a trade agenda based on fair trade for the benefit of all, which puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries; recalls that this strategy is possible only if equilibrium in trade balances and balances of payments is ensured in order to avoid the economic predation which is inherent in the adoption of free trade as the general rule; stresses that this fair trade strategy is contained in the Havana Charter, signed on 24 March 1948;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Insists that the WTOStates should clearly recognise the role that traderelocation of the means of production and short supply chains can play in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the fight against climate change, using the Paris Agreement commitments as a minimum benchmark;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concernedConsiders, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements cshould lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governancedevelop on the basis of recognition of the principles of the Havana Charter and of the Paris Climate Agreement; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to dismantle the WTO and to rethink the organisation of international trade within the United Nations system;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses its utmost concern that the USNotes that the US is blocking the appointment of several vacant posts on the Appellate Body of the WTO; considers that this deadlock, which follows the failure of the Doha round, shows that, for at least 10 years, the United States has wanted to put an end to a WTO which no longer serves its power interests, given its trade deficits and the fact that China has overtaken it economically; notes that the mercantilist model, as exemplified by Germany with its per capita trade surpluses eight times larger than those of China, has reached its limits; calls on the Union and its blocking the appointment of several vacant posts on the Appellate Body of the WTOMember States to follow the example of President Trump by halting the dismantling of industry and using trade measures, including customs tariffs, against countries with excessive trade surpluses, such as Germany, including within the internal market; considers that the desire of the world's leading economy to see the demise of the WTO should be taken as an opportunity for European States to restore the rules of international trade, adopting a cooperative and multipolar approach, in particular by involving the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the BRICS, taking as a basis the principles of the Havana Charter, signed on 24 March 1948;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Considers that the extraterritorial application of US sanctions, as well as the imbalances in international trade, must also lead to negotiations on phasing out the dollarisation of the world economy; considers that the Member States should, to this end, endorse the initiatives undertaken by the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in this field;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls foron the EU to continue to make the case for increasing the importance of the parliamentary dimension of the WTO; calls on WTO members to ensurMember States to ensure the democratic legitimacy and transparency of their trade policy by strengthening theits parliamentary dimension of the WTO; stresses, in this connection, the need to ensure thatbetter access for parliamentarians have better access to trade negotiations and are involved in the formulation and implementation of WTO decisto trade negotiations.