Recently, questions have arisen as to whether either GATT or possibly
NAFTA included language necessitating that every child must be
numbered at birth under a member country's "social security"
numbering program.

At least two existing treaties mention requirements for both "social
security" and "registering" of children at birth.

For example, there is a "right to social security" alleged within the
United Nations' "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" wherein
Article 22 provides that:

"Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security..."

And, the "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" requires
that every child shall be "registered at birth." Article 24 states:

"2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth
and shall have a name."

However, after a great deal of searching, no specific reference to
"numbering at birth" was found within the language of either GATT or
NAFTA. So where did these "rumors" originate?

GATT and the World Trade Organization (WTO)

In 1994, the United States entered into the agreement known as the World
Trade Agreement (WTA). The WTA established the World Trade
Organization (WTO), and it also integrally incorporated the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The primary purpose of the
WTA/GATT round of agreements is to provide "trade breaks and
incentives" to "under-developed countries" so as to give them and their
respective industry "equal footing" in the global market.

In 1994, in compliance with WTA/GATT requirements, the 103rd United States
Congress enacted the "GATT-implementing legislation" referred to as the
"Uruguay Round Agreements Act." The purpose of this Act was to jointly
adopt and implement both the WTA and GATT. The United States'
implementing legislation specifically includes a "numbering at birth" program.

During Senate floor debates, Senator Pete Domenici spoke in favor of
adopting the GATT legislation. At the time, he was attempting to discharge
many of the arguments which had been raised in opposition to GATT. At one
point Senator Patrick Moynihan engaged Senator Domenici in an impromptu
dialogue questioning whether the bill included a requirement for United States
citizens to be "numbered at birth." Their exchange went as follows:

Mr. DOMENICI:

"A final question of special concern is that GATT requires
that every United States citizen receive an identification
number at birth, and that this matter is unrelated and irrelevant
to matters of trade. The answer is that this requirement is
included in the implementing language of GATT; it is not part of
the GATT itself. This language was included in the implementing
legislation because to ensure accurate assessments of income
taxes, improper deductions on tax returns must be minimized.

"Mr. MOYNIHAN:

It is the Social Security number.

"Mr. DOMENICI:

The Social Security number, that is right.

Senator Domenici went on to explain:

"As a consequence, this section is designed to reduce tax cheating by
people who claim children they do not have, which has the effect of
reducing their taxes. This is important because it has a significant effect
on the amount of tax revenue collected, which directly correlates with the
overall net cost of the agreement to the U.S. Treasury. Therefore, the
United States has decided that it is critical to maintain an accurate
accounting of its taxable population."

[From the Congressional Record, Senate - Page: S15274-S15275, 1994]

Senator Domenici clearly stated that the GATT-implementing imposed a
requirement for every United States citizen to be "numbered at birth,"
which was necessary to comply with GATT.

The relevant provision in GATT - to which Senator Domenici alluded -
concerns government-provided "subsidies" that may give any particular
industry an "unfair advantage" on the global market. Within GATT, all
government subsidies -- including tax breaks, incentives, exemptions,
and credits -- must be closely regulated and monitored so that an
accounting can be given to the WTO. The Trade Agreement also requires
that each member country make available to every other country detailed
records of all subsidies so that "equalization measures" can be
instituted assuring under-developed countries a "level playing field"
in the global market.

If an under-developed member country complains and alleges to the
WTO that it has been disadvantaged by another country because of
government-provided subsidies, the challenged country must open up its
books and records for examination by the WTO and must prove that the
subsidy complies with the WTO Agreement. In such case, the "challenged
country" must be able to account for and verify all government-granted
tax breaks, benefits, and incentives. Therefore, every detail of every
tax-related subsidy, including "tax exemptions" and "tax credits for
children" must be impeccably accounted for and completely verifiable.

Consequently, GATT itself does not require member countries to
"number" all citizens and residents at birth, however, the intent and
consequence of the United States' GATT implementing legislation is that
every child must be numbered so that "dependent exemptions" and "child
tax credits" can be reported to the WTO.

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Relevant excerpts from the U.S. implementing Act and from the WTO/GATT
documents are included below for those who would like to do further
research or to verify this information.
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[U.S. Law Adopting the World Trade Organization and GATT Uruguay Round
of Agreements]

H.R.5110
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (1994, Public Law: 103-465)

Subtitle A--Approval of Agreements and Related Provisions

SEC. 101. APPROVAL AND ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS.

(a) APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS AND STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION-
Pursuant to section 1103 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of
1988 (19 U.S.C. 2903) and section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2191), the Congress approves--

(1) the trade agreements described in subsection (d) resulting from the
Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, entered into on April 15,
1994, and submitted to the Congress on September 27, 1994; and

(2) the statement of administrative action proposed to implement the
agreements that was submitted to the Congress on September 27, 1994.

-------------------------

TITLE VII--REVENUE PROVISIONS
Subtitle E - (amendments to the U.S. Code)

SEC. 742. TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS REQUIRED AT BIRTH.

(b) DEPENDENCY EXEMPTION- Subsection (e) of section 6109 is amended
to read as follows:

`(e) FURNISHING NUMBER FOR DEPENDENTS- Any taxpayer who claims an
exemption under section 151 for any dependent on a return for any
taxable year shall include on such return the identifying number
(for purposes of this title) of such dependent.'

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[WORLD TRADE AGREEMENT (WTA) finalized in Uruguay in 1994 establishing
the WTO and adopting GATT revisions. GATT was originally adopted by the
U.S. in 1947.]

AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES
PART I: GENERAL
Article 1

Definition of a Subsidy -

1.1 For the purpose of this Agreement, a subsidy shall be deemed to
exist if:

(a)(1) there is a financial contribution by a government or any public
body within the territory of a Member (hereinafter referred to as
"government"), i.e., where:

(i) Government practice involves a direct transfer of funds (e.g.,
grants, loans, and equity infusion), potential direct transfers of
funds or liabilities (e.g., loan guarantees);

(ii) government revenue that is otherwise due, is foregone or not
collected (e.g., fiscal incentives such as tax credits)...

Article 2

Specificity -

2.11 In order to determine whether a subsidy, as defined in paragraph
1 of Article 1 above is specific to an enterprise or industry or group
of enterprises or industries (hereinafter referred to as "certain
enterprises") within the jurisdiction of the granting authority, the
following principles shall apply:

(b) Where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to
which the granting authority operates, establishes objective criteria
or conditions governing the eligibility for, and the amount of, a
subsidy, specificity shall not exist, provided that the eligibility is
automatic and that such criteria and conditions are strictly adhered
to. The criteria or conditions must be clearly spelled out in law,
regulation, or other official document, so as to be capable of
verification.

Article 12

Evidence -

12.5 Except in circumstances provided for in paragraph 7, the
authorities shall during the course of an investigation satisfy
themselves as to the accuracy of the information supplied by
interested parties or interested Members upon which their findings
are based.

PART VII: NOTIFICATION AND SURVEILLANCE

Article 25

Notifications -

25.2 Members shall notify any subsidy as defined in paragraphs 1 and
2 of Article 1 above, granted or maintained within their territory.

25.3 The content of notifications should be sufficiently specific to
enable other Members to evaluate the trade effects and to understand
the operation of notified subsidy programmes. In this connection and
without prejudice to the contents and form of the questionnaire on
subsidies, Members shall ensure that their notifications contain the
following information:

(i) form of a subsidy (i.e., grant, loan, tax concession, etc.)...

ANNEX V

Procedures for Developing Information Concerning Serious Prejudice -

1. Every Member shall co-operate in the development of evidence to
be examined by the Committee or its subsidiary bodies...

2. In cases where matters are referred to in the Committee under
paragraph 4 of Article 7, the Committee shall upon request, initiate
the procedure to obtain such information from the government of the
subsidizing Member as necessary to establish the existence and amount
of subsidizations, the value of total sales of the subsidized firms,
as well as information necessary to analyze the adverse effects caused
by the subsidized product. This process may include, where appropriate,
presentation of questions to the government of the subsidizing country
and of the complaining country to collect information, as well as to
clarify and obtain elaboration of information available to the parties
to a dispute through the notification procedures set forth in Part VII
above.

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[Additional information on Global Social Security systems.]
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International Social Security Association
http://www.aiss.org/

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