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 The BBC's Andrew Walker reports from Seattle"Many participants did say there had been progress on a number of difficult issues"  real 28k |
Poor countries claim WTO victory
Protesters say they threw the WTO into the glare of public scrutiny |
Developing countries are claiming victory after the world trade talks in Seattle ended in failure on Friday.
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Supachai, the future head of the WTO |
The future head of the WTO, Thailand's commerce minister, Supachai Panitchpakdi, said the collapse of the talks showed that developing nations were finally making their voices heard in international trade talks.
"We should not squeeze out any round from Seattle if it's not going to benefit all of us," he added.
 There was a failure of political will  |
| Charlene Barshefsky, US trade negotiator |
They also felt that the rich countries had not honoured the agreements previously made to open up their markets to products in which they had a comparative advantage, such as textiles and agriculture.
A wake-up call to the rich
Mr Supachai said that the failure of the talks to produce any agreements was tantamount to a wake-up call for rich countries to make sure that the interests of developing nations are taken into account when it comes to a new round of talks.
The biggest disagreement was over child labour |
The failures should be seen positively as a sign that developing countries are now better prepared for the meeting by getting their views across and they are proving tougher to bargain with, he added.
Mr Supachai fought a bitter campaign this year to become head of the WTO over the opposition of the United States. In a compromise deal reached in the summer, he is to take over from New Zealander Mike Moore in 2002 as head of the organisation that polices world trade.
South African trade minister Alec Erwin earlier blamed the United States for the breakdown of the talks, saying that the WTO had been "held hostage" by "the incoherent response of the USA to their own domestic pressures".
He argued that the US had failed to do enough basic educational work to explain the benefits of free trade, and was using the mass protests as an excuse to force the issues of labour rights and environmental standards onto the agenda.
And Indian commerce and industry minister Murasoli Maran said that he hoped if negotiations resumed, they would be on the basis of a more "balanced and equitable package" that excluded areas like labour standards, environmental issues, and investment and competition policy.
Failure for President Clinton
The collapse of the talks is a severe embarrassment for the US, which wanted the meeting to launch a new round of negotiations to remove barriers to international trade.
The failure of talks has been an embarrassment for Mr Clinton |
"We made progress at the Seattle WTO trade meetings although significant differences remain.
"I remain optimistic ... that we can use the coming months to narrow our differences and launch a successful new round of global trade talks," he said.
I remain optimistic ..we can launch a new round of global trade talks |
| President Bill Clinton |
She also announced that more trade talks on agriculture and services - held over from the previous round of trade talks - would begin in Geneva in January.
Meanwhile, world leaders in Japan and Europe called for further efforts to agree a more ambitious agenda for trade liberalisation.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called for new talks to be held quickly, saying "I regret the failure of the WTO conference.
Japan's Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said that "a free trade system is unavoidable for Japan."
"Japan will make further efforts to launch a new round," he added.
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See also: |
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05 Dec 99 | Battle for Free Trade |
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WTO talks: Anatomy of a failure |
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01 Dec 99 | Battle for Free Trade |
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Seattle trade talks timeline |
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04 Dec 99 | Battle for Free Trade |
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WTO tarnished by Seattle failure |
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04 Dec 99 | Business |
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Trade talks failure prompts rethink |
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04 Dec 99 | Media reports |
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Worldwide disappointment at WTO talks |
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04 Dec 99 | Business |
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Anti-WTO protesters claim victory |
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03 Dec 99 | Business |
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Farm fight follies |
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02 Dec 99 | Americas |
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Eyewitness: The Battle of Seattle |
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02 Dec 99 | Business |
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WTO tackles the internet |
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Anti-WTO action page |
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European Union Trade Directorate |
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