The low wage employer fee they will try to use to justify visa-enabled guest workers working for minimum wage or less. Their employers will be responsible for their housing, likely. What i am saying is that people who bury their heads in the sands about these trade negotiations on a “plurilateral” agreement on trade in services are in a sense falling into a trap.
Raising minimum wages right now may be seen by the WTO as a gambit to keep out businesses who will be legally entitled under GATS or its progeny, TISA to do these jobs if they are the lowest qualified bidders.
““Exports of services can take different paths. To illustrate,
a U.S.-based software company can export its products
via the Internet (‘cross-border trade,’ known as mode 1),
provide training to its staff based in Spanish-speaking
countries in Panama (‘consumption abroad,’ mode 2), sell
service contracts through a Japanese affiliate (‘commercial
presence,’ mode 3), and employ a Dutch national with
an H-1B visa at its headquarters (‘movement of natural
persons,’ mode 4)” (US Chamber of Commerce 2014,
paragraph 6). This categorization drives home the unique
attributes of services as compared to goods.”
We need to be aware of this huge “labor mobility” or “mode four” push under WTO.
Negotiations have been going on in Geneva for eight years under the aegis of a quasi WTO “Friends of Services” or “Real Good Friends of Services” group. The deal that emerges has also been called many different names… “Plurilateral Trade in Services Agreement” or “Trade in Services Agreement” are two examples.
There is a huge push on the US right now to open up mode four.
One low skill person person’s “skilled employment” may be seen by another as a low paying job.
One high skill person’s skilled employment may be seen by somebody else, fresh out of college as an entry level job that doesn’t pay enough for them to pay back their college loans.
The problem is, somebody else with no debt would like to do that job for much less. And a multinational company would like to tag on 30 or 40 percent, or more.
And the financial motive is high to use the North/South divide as a way to drive the wages of both downward in what amounts to a global race to the bottom.