Seattle: WTO-free zone

[Doug Henwood]

Today's WSJ reports that Seattle is "bracing for protesters" at the World
Trade Organization meeting this November. It says Seattle's city council
has voted "to make the city a global-investment-treaty-free zone." Seattle
is home to Boeing and Microsoft, two companies with massive global sales
that thrive on the tightened intellectual property restrictions and
pried-open trade regimes embodied in WTO/MAI-style treaties. Can any
northwesterners on the list enlighten me on how the locals reconcile this?

Doug