And the Clinton administration stumbled in its efforts to make labor rights a core part of trade negotiations in the future. The United States had already backed away from its original goal of setting up a working group on labor in the World Trade Organization. But it kept struggling to obtain a consensus on a forum that would operate outside the trade group but ultimately report to it. One significant stumbling block was the push to open the trade group to increased public scrutiny. Ending the secretive ways was a common demand among many protesters here and became a top priority for the Clinton administration.
Draft documents suggest that members of the trade group took only baby steps on the issue.
Negotiators did reach a preliminary accord that would have allowed more trade documents to be declassified and circulated to the public, people close to the talks said. Advocates of a more open trade group had considered those steps modest but necessary to gain the trust of smaller governments, as well as nongovernment environmental and labor groups. Even while negotiations continued, Clinton telephoned world leaders to try to resolve several of the most contentious issues. Obuchi and Prodi had declined to attend the Seattle meeting. The administration had seemed to make some progress, including a reference to eliminating various subsidies in a draft framework for talks on farm goods.