Overview

1999 was a turbulent year for the WTO. After the Organization had been without a Director-General or Deputy Directors-General for four months, the new Director-General, Mr. Moore, took office only on 1 September, when the Third Ministerial Session at Seattle was already looming. It is a matter of record that, despite a year of hard preparatory work by the Chairman of the General Council, delegations and the Secretariat, the Ministerial failed to reach agreement either on the launch of a new Round of trade negotiations or on the other important points which had emerged in the course of the preparatory process. Furthermore, the WTO found itself at the centre of a wave of resentment against many aspects of the global economy, for which the Seattle Ministerial became a focus.