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Trade truce

Trade truce the choice of venue was clever and the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center added to the security paranoia. The result was that it combined to give trade negotiators somewhat of a breather when they met in Doha, Qatar, for the fourth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (wto). The massive street protests that marked the Seattle round were non-existent at the Doha ministerial. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks against the us , anti-globalisation protesters were suddenly disoriented, and several plans for protests at Doha were cancelled. “Are we talking about anti-capitalisation, anti-globalisation or anti-Americanism? It didn’t matter before September 11; now it does,” says Tom Spencer, director of the European Centre for Public Affairs.

Besides, the organisers were not taking any chances, and the conference venue looked like a fortress. The perceived threat of terrorism was used as an effective way of stopping anyone opposed to the wto

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