Civics Studies 11 MUNDY

 Purpose of these organizations is for member countries to agree to measures that will reduce import tariffs (and other ‘trade barriers’) and create more ‘free trade’

 Major organizations include: ◦ World Trade Organization (WTO) ◦ Asia Pacific Economic Organization (APEC) ◦ Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ◦ Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ◦ European Union (EU)

 After WWII, countries agreed that trade barriers fueled the Great Depression  in 1947, Canada and other countries signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), meant to reduce tariffs and promote international trade  By 1995, GATT required a full body to manage the develop rules – the WTO

 WTO spends its time creating and revising trade rules for use amongst its members (created by consensus)  acts as a ‘trade court’ for disputes between member countries – binding judgements  also enforces patent and copyright rules between members 

 Critics of the WTO state it is:  too secretive in its practices (not open to public scrutiny  not considering how its rules hinder development of poor countries  ignoring need for sustainable economic practices

 APEC: founded in 1989 by countries bordering the Pacific Ocean  Trade group meant to create common economic policies and guidelines to govern trade between their countries  Members are not bound by rules of APEC

 Formed in 1960s by middle eastern countries (such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, Iraq)  Main purpose is to regulate and control production of oil  Canada is not a member of OPEC, despite producing oil offshore and in oilsands  Blamed for creating the oil crisis in the early 1970s by cutting production, increasing prices

 Founded at the Bretton Woods Conference (1944) to prevent any further Great Depressions and to decide how to rebuild Europe in the wake of WWII  Mainly sought to provide loans to countries in Europe needing to rebuild  More recently, it loans money to impoverished countries in need of infrastructure

 Loans by developing countries come with conditions, such as obligation on government to cut public spending or remove trade barriers to foreign imports  Critics state that these loans ultimately cripple the country, as debt repayments overtake government spending in vital areas such as health care or education

 OECD was founded in 1961 as a counterpart to NATO that was to provide solutions to member countries for economic and social conditions (while NATO provided military support to these same countries)  Maintains strong relationships with NGOs to provide services to member countries

 as a regional organization, or bloc, the EU first started as a group to prevent war amongst them and create a common economic policy  Now members allow free trade amongst members, along with immigration  Also shares common Parliament and Court (while still maintaining sovereign courts and government in their own countries)

 One major feature of EU is that countries also share a common currency, the Euro (€)  The Euro allows for currency values to stabilize, given that if one member’s economy falls, the currency will be ‘buoyed’ by other members whose economies are doing well

 Started in 1975 as an annual meeting of the six top industrialized nations to discuss issues regarding economic conditions  Now includes more countries, including Canada, and discusses other issues than just economy (2008 examined both the global economic recession and climate change)  leaders of these countries meet, along with a team of politicians and policy makers

 G8 summits are often publicized in the media, and therefore have recently become a flashpoint for demonstrations that various people wish to gain the attention of the leaders for