Undeterred by sharp increases in inequality across the globe, nor the devastation created by reckless deregulation of the financial markets, multinational corporations have been urging our governments that further radical and permanent liberalization is now required through a web of binding trade and investment agreements. No longer about traditional trade issues, the new wave of agreements deepens corporate power by limiting the role of democratic governments to regulate in the public interest and opens up government services to private profit. These agreements include the Canada- EU Agreement (CETA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA).

This meeting of public sector trade union leaders from every continent will be an important global event. Rosa Pavanelli, General Secretary of PSI, along with Dave Prentis, President of PSI and General Secretary of UNISON (UK), will convene the meeting. IBT President James P. Hoffa will welcome participants and public sector union leaders from across the globe. National and international media and lobbying opportunities will be incorporated into the agenda.

The summit will feature expert presentations and strategic discussions about the role that multinational corporations play, examine the results of 30 years of liberalization and look for alternatives to the rigged system being aggressively promoted. It will examine privatization, the proposed investor rights clauses, threats to public services in health and social services, education, water and other sectors and the impacts on governmental accountability and transparency. Importantly, it will ask what needs to be done to create a fairer system of trade for all.

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Due to overwhelming demand, we are now closing registration for the PSI Washington Trade Summit.