Some meetings, such as the inaugural ministerial conference in Singapore and the Cancun conference in 2003 involved arguments between developed and developing economies referred to as the "Singapore issues" such as agricultural subsidies; while others such as the Seattle conference in 1999 provoked large demonstrations.
Algunhas das conferencias, como a inaugural de Singapur (1996) e a de Cancún (2003) provocaron discusións entre economías desenvolvidas e subdesenvolvidas, mentres outras, como a de Seattle (1999) deron lugar a grandes manifestacións.