Globalization, the Social Clause, and China's Workers

In discussions relating to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in recent years, one of the most persistently controversial topics of debate among member states has been whether the "social clause" should be incorporated into the negotiations and subsequently into the agreements of the WTO. The developed nations, led by the United States, generally agree that the social clause should be incorporated into the agreements, while the vast majority of the developing nations are negatively disposed toward this proposition.>sup>1>/sup> This article presents the view that the reason why developing nations are in opposition to the social clause may well be that they misunderstand the impact that the social clause would have on workers' wages. This article will also argue, through specific case studies of labor conditions in China, that accepting and supporting the social clause is the only way for the developing nations to get out of the dilemma in which their workers' wages continue on a downward slide.