If someone had told any news editor that their front page story for 29th November 1999 would be about an obscure trade conference in a little known American city, the reaction might well have been complete surprise. Seattle was the meeting of about 5,000 delegates from 150 countries for a new round of global trade talks. Like the Uruguay Round begun in 1986 and the Tokyo Round started in 1973, the Seattle Round looked to slash tariffs, abolish subsidies and open up investment for companies seeking to get into global markets. …
