Permanent Representative of Australia to the World Trade Organization Permanent Representative of Australia to the World Trade Organization The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the World Trade Organization is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Permanent Mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and continues Australia's representation to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT; 1948–1995), as a charter member joining the WTO to replace the GATT on 1 January 1995. The Permanent Mission to
Labour standards in the World Trade Organization or any other measure, they do not provide a solution to the complexity of the labour standards issue and should not be used to deal with disputes over labour standards. Firstly, trade measures have the effect of constraining access to markets, which is why they are effective as a deterrent. However this may be counterproductive, resulting in developing countries becoming even poorer without helping the workers. "Trade sanctions are a blunt instrument, penalizing the country as a whole, not just those responsible for rights violations." The linkage and inalienability between civil & political, and economic, social & cultural rights means