The WTO Ministerial Conference held in Seattle in early December 1999 was powerless to launch the millennium cycle owing to the appearances of new players who had previously not been at the negotiating table – non-governmental organizations and developing countries – and to the difficulty that the advocates of trade liberalization had in mobilizing their traditional support. The conference also marked the exhaustion of the model of globalization conducted under America’s control and the inability of the European Union to replace it with its own model of far-reaching integration. Developing countries are seeking to lay the foundations of a trading system whose procedures are more egalitarian and whose objectives are more equitable. The interlude that has been imposed by the December failure should allow answers to be found to the questions asked by the Seattle 'dissident'.

This content is published in French - En attendant le cycle. Que faire après Seattle ?