The Millennium Round That Failed

Abstract

If Marrakesh in 1994 was the zenith of the multilateral trading system, then Seattle in 1999 proved to be its nadir! The WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle was doomed from the beginning. Preparations were totally inadequate and there was no meeting ground even between the US and the EU, much less between the developed countries and the developing countries. Developing countries were still smarting from the outcome of the Uruguay Round and were struggling with issues related to “Implementation” of their obligations. Least Developed Countries felt excluded from the new WTO and felt no stake in the multilateral trading system. As against this, the EU (with tacit support from the US) was still hell-bent on enlarging the scope of negotiations by including the so-called Singapore Issues: Investment, Competition Policy, Transparency in Government Procurement and Trade Facilitation. This really raised the hackles of the developing and the least developed countries who were simply not ready to contemplate a new round of trade negotiations. As if all this was not enough, the organization of the conference at the venue itself left a lot to be desired. Things were done at the very last minute. And then, by a combination of circumstances, a large number of NGOs descended on Seattle on the eve of the conference creating chaos. With the Seattle police battling the protesters with tear gas, negotiators inside the conference venue battled to find consensus where none existed. Ministers from Least Developed Countries, particularly from the ACP group then left the conference venue somewhat prematurely saying they had no clue what was going on and were not kept informed. This raised serious questions about transparency and negotiating mechanisms within the WTO. The last straw was the continued insistence of both the US and the EU to include Core Labour Standards into the agenda of the WTO. President Clinton’s interview acted as a red rag to many delegations in this regard. In the end, the WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle simply collapsed under the weight of its contradictions. In unprecedented fashion, the Conference ended with not even a statement from Ministers much less a formal declaration. Not WTO’s finest hour, to put it mildly.