Deadly migrant trafficking trade by sea and restrictive service trade by the WTO. Unmasking the linkage for the liberalization of labour-intensive service trade
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JITLP-08-2015-0022 |
| Published date | 15 June 2015 |
| Date | 15 June 2015 |
| Pages | 86-104 |
| Author | Rafiqul Islam,Khorsed Zaman |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,International business,International business law |
Deadly migrant trafcking trade
by sea and restrictive service
trade by the WTO
Unmasking the linkage for the liberalization
of labour-intensive service trade
Raqul Islam
Law School, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, and
Khorsed Zaman
Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance,
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine one of the most pressing global challenges, the
ongoing migrant trafcking across sea, from international trade law and policy perspective. It identies
global poverty as one of the underlying causes of such trafcking. It argues that restrictive trade in
labour-intensive services of the World Trade Organization (WTO) contributes to and sustains poverty
in many migrant producing countries. Chronic unemployment in poor countries with surplus manual
workforce renders these workers bewildered to survive in a jobless and incomeless home markets.
Non-liberalization of movements of natural persons under General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS) Mode 4 prevents legal cross-border delivery of labours. Restrictive trade in agriculture has but
aggravated their marginalized plight. It is this poverty trap that pushes workers, lured by smugglers, to
take risky migration routes for better life in countries with labour shortages.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a blend approach of theoretical and applied
aspects of international trade law and policy, which is interpreted and applied to a fact situation of
contemporary challenge of migrant trafcking by sea.
Findings – This paper establishes a nexus between restrictive Mode 4 trade and its implications for
poverty-induced migration trafcking trade. It suggests a palatable trade law and policy-based reform
response for the WTO to ameliorate poverty and migration trafcking trade concurrently through the
creation of legal channels for the cross-border delivery of labours by liberalizing Mode 4 trade in a
manner benecial for developed countries as well.
Originality/value – Its value lies in its contribution to maximize multi-lateral trade liberalization for
the benet of all countries, social inclusion and economic emancipation of the disadvantaged, which
would minimize global poverty.
Keywords Trade liberalization, Migrant trade, GATS mode, Poverty,
Labour-intensive services trade, WTO
Paper type Viewpoint
1. Introduction
Recent migrant trafcking trade by boat predominantly from some African, the Middle
Eastern and Asian developing countries continues with no sign of abating and has
become a daunting challenge for the international community. These migrants risk the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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JITLP
14,2
86
Received 24 August 2015
Revised 24 August 2015
Accepted 28 August 2015
Journalof International Trade Law
andPolicy
Vol.14 No. 2, 2015
pp.86-104
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1477-0024
DOI 10.1108/JITLP-08-2015-0022
dangerous routes and tragic consequences to migrate to relatively afuent countries for
better life. International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that over 3,072
people died during their perilous journey across deserts and the Mediterranean Sea to
Europe in 2014, and death toll continues to climb in 2015, making Europe the deadliest
destination for irregular migrants (International Organization for Migration, 2015;IOM,
2014;Al Jazeera Report, 2014;ABC News, 2015). Thousands of people from some South
Asian countries are also risking their lives by taking unseaworthy boat journey through
the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to reach Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, The
Philippines, New Zealand and Australia. Over 2000 died so far in 2015 by drowning due
to the precarious voyage conditions and mistreatments and privation at the hands of
migrant trafckers and smugglers (UNHCR, 2015). These migration seekers have been
subjected to heinous torture, cruelty, inhuman punishment, degrading treatment, sexual
violence, rape, beating and throwing overboard by their trafckers and smugglers to
recover ransom (UNHCR, 2015;Stevis, 2015;Scammell, 2015;Associated Press, 2015;
Idris, 2015).
The overwhelming majority of these people are eeing war conditions, persecution,
deprivation, discrimination, abuse and abject poverty in their own countries in search of
safety, security and better living conditions. The UN and its agencies have been calling
upon coastal states to rescue and shelter oating boat people at sea, which are somewhat
heeded by European and Asian countries but unheeded by Australia which is turning
boats back claiming that they are economic migrants. International responses to this
mounting crisis are reactive to the unfolding tragedies and short-term management
response to the effect of the crisis. For an enduring solution to this growing and highly
protable human smuggling trade, its underlying causes need to be identied and
addressed. This article identies global poverty as one of the root causes of this trade,
which is partially attributable to restrictive trade in labour-intensive services under
Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
Chronic unemployment-induced poverty is one of many factors that causes
desperation for migration as a way out of the never-ending perils of poverty to survive.
The lacklustre service trade liberalization under GATS is yet to liberalize movements of
natural persons under Mode 4, which prevents cross-border delivery of labour-intensive
services, contributing to growing unemployment and poverty in poor developing
countries with demographic unskilled and semi-skilled workforce. The teeming
multitudes of disillusion and unemployed people lacking professional and managerial
skills encounter insurmountable challenge to survive in their highly competitive
national job markets where wages, incomes, labour rights and bargaining power are
constantly deteriorating due to oversupply. To end their marginalized economic plight,
these people take life-threatening risks to migrate to countries with labour shortages. It
is this nexus between restrictive Mode 4 services trade and its poverty implications that
perhaps unwittingly contribute to migration trafcking trade. The WTO can play a
positive role in arresting escalating and protable human migration trafcking trade by
ameliorating global poverty through the creation of new employment opportunities for
migrant workers. It can establish an effective legal system for the cross-border delivery
of labour-intensive services by permitting temporary and conditional movements of
labourers under Mode 4. Such a trade policy response would not only maximize service
trade liberalization but also obviate the life-endangering lure of better life in many
87
Liberalization
of labour-
intensive
service trade
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