Poll Shows Worldwide Support for Globalization, With Some Caveats
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NEW YORK, May 1 (OneWorld) - Worldwide, more people than ever think that global trade is threatening their jobs and causing damage to the environment, though there is still strong support overall for economic globalization, which many see as benefiting national economies, companies, and consumers.
The findings come from a new report based on a worldwide opinion poll conducted over the past nine months. The survey, which is the fifth in a series of analytical reports on public attitudes toward key international issues, was released last week by the U.S.-based Chicago Council on Global Affairs and WorldPublicOpinion.org. The polls were conducted in China, India, the United States, Indonesia, France, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, Poland, Iran, Mexico, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Argentina, Peru, Israel, Armenia, and the Palestinian territories. Collectively, these countries represent more than half of the world's population. Pollsters say, around the world people seem increasingly worried about the effect of trade on the environment. In four countries, a plurality of people now clearly think trade is bad for the environment: France (66% bad, 29% good), the United States (49% bad, 45% good), Argentina (46% bad, 27% good), and Russia (44% bad, 25% good). Explaining that result, pollsters say some believe trade stimulates growth and consumption, resulting in more factories and cars and ultimately more pollution, while others assume that by opening domestic markets to foreign goods, trade allows companies to evade environmental laws. Environmentalists say one way to mitigate that negative impact is to require minimum environmental standards as part of trade agreements. Critics say, however, that including such standards in trade agreements hurts the developing world by raising costs and discouraging investment. Nonetheless, the survey suggests that ordinary citizens in developing as well as developed nations show strong support for such standards. Some 60 to 93 percent of respondents in 10 countries said that trade agreements should include "minimum standards for protection of the environment." Those in favor also include two of the world's largest developing economies: China and India. The Chinese favor environmental protections by 85 percent to 8 percent and Indians endorse them by 60 percent to 28 percent. On the question of whether trade is good or bad for "your own standard of living," more than 50 percent of respondents in all but three countries expressed positive views. But even those three countries expressed more positive than negative views: Argentina (good 42%, bad 30%), Russia (good 45%, bad 19%), and France (good 50%, bad 44%). The pollsters say there is significant concern, however, about the effect of trade on employment, especially in developed countries. According to the survey, 80 percent of French respondents believe that trade has a negative impact on job security, and 73 percent think it is also bad for the creation of jobs there. In the United States, 67 percent consider trade harmful for U.S. workers' job security and 60 percent call it detrimental for job creation. However, in the other countries polled, majorities view trade as positive for job creation while majorities or pluralities think it is good for job security. Israelis, Mexicans, and Thais are those most positive that trade helps create jobs (74% each). The largest majority saying trade is good for job security is in China (65%). Anxiety about trade's impact on labor is also expressed in a question about foreign policy goals. Respondents in seven countries were asked to judge the importance of several foreign policy goals, including "protecting the jobs" of their country's workers. In all seven countries, majorities gave this goal the top rating of "very important:" Armenia (84%), Australia (83%), the United States (76%), China (71%), South Korea (68%), Thailand (66%), and India (54%). The survey indicates there is a strong support for globalization in all 17 countries plus the Palestinian territories where people were asked if "globalization, especially increasing connections of our economy with others around the world, is mostly good or mostly bad" for their country. The highest levels of support were found in countries with export-oriented economies: China (87%), South Korea (86%), and Israel (82%). Positive answers fall below 50 percent in only three countries, though such responses still outweigh negative replies by wide margins. Pollsters say they found the strongest skepticism about globalization in Mexico (41% good, 22% bad), Russia (41% good, 24% bad), and the Philippines (49% good, 32% bad). In the United States, 60 percent think globalization is mostly good and 35 percent call it mostly bad. According to the survey, majorities hold the view that trade benefits their country's companies. Israelis (86%), Chinese (78%), and South Koreans (78%) top the list of those saying trade is "good" for their country's companies. The highest percentages of negative replies are found in the United States (45%), France (43%), and Russia (34%). Respondents in developed countries overwhelmingly support including labor standards in international trade agreements, including nine out of ten respondents in the United States (93%), Israel (91%), Argentina (89%), and Poland (88%). But adding labor protections to trade agreements also receives strong support in many less developed countries that are known for low-cost labor markets. In China, 84 percent favor them as do majorities in Mexico (67%), India (56%), and the Philippines (55%). Pollsters say this is contrary to the widespread assumption that laborers in developing countries would oppose the imposition of higher standards because they desire the competitive advantages derived from lower labor costs. While respondents around the world tend to support international trade as an engine of economic growth, pollsters say there is less enthusiasm for the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was founded in 1995 to resolve trade disputes among member states. The survey suggests that most countries lean toward compliance with adverse rulings by the WTO, but there is substantial variation. The U.S. public, despite its reservations about international trade, shows the highest support (73%) for obeying WTO decisions. Pollsters say U.S. residents' views about compliance with WTO decisions are consistent with the support they have shown in this and other polls for strengthening multilateral institutions. On the impact of trade on consumers, according to the survey, 56 to 77 percent of people hold positive views in all but one country, Argentina, where only 46 percent think trade is good for consumers. ....................................................................................
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