Mobilisation des élus contre l’AGCS aux États-Unis

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski is petitioning the Bush administration to leave Oregon out of a proposed expansion of an international trade agreement on the service sector of the economy.

The governor, who is running for re-election, also wants to see Oregon excluded from parts of the agreement that cover health care, land use and zoning, and gambling.

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman, Kulongoski said the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services « contains several provisions that conflict with our ability to effectively and appropriately regulate in the public interest. »

Aides to the governor said the letter’s goal was to call attention to under-the-radar negotiations to expand he trade agreement now going on in Geneva. Kulongoski is hoping to convince federal officials that they should consult more with state and local officials before entering into international trade agreements that could affect state and local governments.

« We wanted to make sure we’re not compromised by a trade agreement, » said Chris Warner, Kulongoski’s labor and transportation policy adviser. « We’re not at the table. »

Warner said it is not clear to Kulongoski’s staff what new services would be subject to WTO trade rules under an expanded trade agreement.

In an e-mail response to questions, an official in the press office of the U.S. trade representative said Kulongoski’s letter « will receive a full response. »

The official said new services that would be covered under an expanded trade agreement include some business services such as translation services, energy services such as field testing for natural resources, and private but not public higher education.

The GATS rules cover a broad array of practices dealing with market access and other aspects of economic activity among countries and their citizens.

In 2005, a WTO panel ruled that U.S. « gambling and betting services » are subject to GATS coverage under a section of the agreement on « other recreational services. » This prompted a letter to Portman from 29 state attorneys general, including Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, calling the ruling « quite troubling. »

States cannot unilaterally opt out of trade agreements made by the federal government, but they can ask to be excluded from parts or all of those agreements.