ABSTRACT
Multilateral trade agreements used to be considered dull. Negotiators would settle upon non-linear formulae for tariff reductions and then haggle over exclusions and phase-in periods. Only trade aficionados and industries with a pecuniary interest would pay any attention. Negotiators still haggle in the same way, but now they do it behind a security cordon as multitudinous protesters rail against the injustices they claim are being perpetrated in the negotiating hall. In 2002, trade negotiations were so controversial that the US Congress was only able to grant negotiating authority to the executive branch by the slimmest of margins.
