Number: RL30270 Title: THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS Authors: Arlene Wilson, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Abstract: Future trade negotiations will be launched at the World Trade organization's (WTO) Ministerial Conference to be held in Seattle from November 30 to December 3, 1999. At the very least, negotiations will include agriculture and services, which are required to begin by the year 2000 in the Uruguay Round Agreement. Other issues that may be addressed are intellectual property rights, government procurement, reduction of industrial tariffs, and reform of the WTO. Some WTO members also want to include investment, competition policy, and the environment in the negotiations. This report provides an overview of the possible scope and structure of the negotiations, and an analysis of negotiations on the build-in-agenda issues (agriculture and services), new issues (investment and competition policy) and the social dimensions of trade (environment and labor). Pages: 17 Date: Updated July 30, 1999