It is worrying that the decision to actually participate in the bargaining at Seattle (which is what being flexible means) has been left for so late in the day. It is a complex business with many external and internal ramifications. As many as 200 proposals on the table must be examined for their merit, which trade-offs make the best sense for India must be worked out and the best negotiating allies among the other 133 countries must be found. China's entry into the WTO will also have to be factored into calculations. Most of the detailed work on these issues would need to be done in advance. Internally, exhaustive discussions with industry, agriculture, the exporttrade and business will have to precede engagement at Seattle. Discussions have been taking place at inter-ministerial level for many months but it is not certain that all the necessary homework has been done. Consultati-ons outside the government will, of course, have to be a continuing process but it would be reassuring to know the specifics have indeed been chewed over thoroughly with business and industry by this time.

It would be a shame to go into such far-reaching discussions without full preparation and the full support of domestic business and industry.One Indian target naturally will be lower tariffs in traditional export sectors like textiles and clothing and leather and leather goods. But it is also here that we face severe competition from countries like China geared to low-cost, quick-to-market production. The most important battles will be to create more openings in fields where India has the edge and its technicians, engineers and scientists can forge further ahead:labour-intensive,skill-intensive and technology-intensive services. Agreeing to transparency in government procurement, for example, is a concession India should happily make for gains elsewhere.