Eight rounds of trade liberalization since the founding of GATT in 1947 have cut major industrial nations' tariffs on manufactured goods by 90 percent, helping trade grow 14-fold worldwide. Cynics say students and activists have no other issues to protest. Perhaps, but others point out that, with the end of the Cold War, there is no common enemy, no overriding logic to a system pulling together free nations. Meanwhile, the Internet provides a powerful gathering place for protesters and a free forum for disseminating views. As the trade coalition has grown from 23 GATT members in 1948 to 134 WTO members today, with 33 others applying to join, the disputes have also grown more contentious.
Many people also feel left behind or threatened by globalization.
Mike Morrill of People's Global Action, an international group dedicated to fighting globalization, lives in Reading, Pa., where the steel and textile mills have closed and the most promising industries are landfills, private prisons, and retail factory outlets. The most important reason for the backlash, though, seems to be the increased power of the WTO itself. Unlike GATT, whose rulings could be ignored, the WTO was given the teeth to settle trade disputes, permitting winning nations to impose sanctions. The United States has prevailed in 22 of the 24 dispute cases brought against it and settled so far. They accuse the WTO of rolling back environmental and safety laws.