After a chaotic day of street protests and disruptions, the World Trade Organisation summit is working steadily towards an agreed agenda for the next round of negotiations to reduce barriers to trade.
As ministers from the 135 member countries of the WTO addressed the summit, working groups dealing with agriculture, trade access and other issues met to try and reach consensus on an agenda before the end of the week.
The Minister of State for Trade, Mr Tom Kitt, in his address to the summit, pledged Ireland's support for the coming trade round, pointing out the State's heavy dependence on exports in manufacturing industry and agriculture.
Later, he signed an agreement for the establishment of a new advisory centre on WTO rules to assist developing countries. Ireland will contribute $2 million to what has been described as "a kind of legal advice centre" for poorer countries.
In his address to the summit, Mr Kitt emphasised Ireland's support for proposals aimed at granting duty and tariff-free access to industrialised markets for exports from the least developed countries (LDCs).
Mr Kitt said that "virtually all jobs in manufacturing industry in Ireland as well as one in seven jobs in the services sector and up to 200,000 jobs in agriculture depend on exports. Against that background, the importance of these talks for the Irish economy are manifest", he said.
In an interview with The Irish Times, Mr Kitt said he was in constant touch with the EU Commissioners who are negotiating for the EU and with the Finnish Presidency which co-ordinates the consultations between the Commission and the EU governments.
Conscious of criticism from the Irish Farmers' Association that a more senior Irish minister such as the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, or the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, should be in Seattle for the summit, Mr Kitt said that there was "an agreed Government position" on the summit and he had "legal responsibility" as the international trade minister.
Mr Kitt said he had had meetings with the IFA delegation in Seattle, which is concerned that the EU may yield to pressure from the US, Australia, New Zealand and other agricultural export countries to phase out farm export subsidies.
The Minister said that Commissioner Pascal Lamy is the EU's chief negotiator and that Ireland and the other members had given him "leverage" on what tactics to adopt.
Agriculture was the only area where Ireland had a "defensive" strategy. On other issues, such as the needs of the developing world, the environment and "core labour standards", Ireland was taking a positive stance.
Mr Kitt admitted that the labour issue was very sensitive for the LDCs, which are "objecting strenuously to labour standards as protectionist". But he insisted that "Ireland cannot be accused of being protectionist". There were two representatives of non-governmental agencies supportive of LDCs on the Irish delegation, he pointed out.
Ireland approves of the EU approach, which links liberalisation of trade with improving working conditions in those poorer countries where child labour and starvation wages are widespread. The EU proposes to involve the International Labour Organisation more closely with the WTO on this issue. But the US is taking a tougher stance under pressure from the main labour unions.
