Deteriorating food security status is primarily a local phenomenon resulting from failures in food systems and inadequate incomes. Technological advances in agriculture have led to declining long-term trends in food prices, which have assisted in improving diets. It is projected that in the...

In mid-December 2011 it was announced that the accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO had been agreed. The accession negotiations had taken 18 years. Russia is the last major economy whose international trade is not governed by WTO disciplines, and with its accession 97 percent of global...

The economies of developed countries have, since 2007, experienced the most significant and persistent period of economic malaise since the 1930s. Domestic economic policies have failed to revive sustained economic growth and, as a result, unemployment remains at levels that voters find...

Dumping is one of the most poorly understood and contentious issues in trade policy. The primary reason is that the agreed definitions of dumping are not based on a solid economic foundation. This allows antidumping measures to be used for protectionist ends and to harass trade partners. While...

Debates over proposals to liberalise international trade are often heated and acrimonious. They are often argued, in part, on the basis of projections of market conditions after the proposed liberalisation. These argument are often important in influencing trade policy decisions, yet their...

Multilateral trade negotiations are, by design, becoming increasingly complex. The current degree of complexity limits the ability to assess the effects of a potential agreement and inhibits the transparency needed to reach an agreement. Despite the considerable recent efforts at capacity...

The European Union is attempting to have the protection of geographic indicators strengthened in the WTO. There may be sufficient rents and other benefits available to justify this strategy in the negotiations. To achieve its rent-seeking goals, however, the European Union needs allies at the...

In the economic model that underlies the WTO the only group that can be expected to ask for protection is producers in importing countries. The existing multilateral trade architecture reflects that assumption. Much of the recent criticism of the multilateral trade regime has arisen as a result...

Trade liberalisation in the livestock sector is not likely to benefit to any great degree from the trade negotiations on agriculture at the WTO that commenced in the spring of 2000. This is because the major barriers to trade in livestock and red meat are not related to tariffs and other...

The accession of China to the WTO may take place in the near future. While much attention has been given to the effect this will have on international trade and the Chinese economy, less attention has been given to the effect on the WTO. China is a large, developing, transition economy that is...