World commodity markets and particularly the markets for agricultural commodities remain highly distorted despite the wave of liberalization that has swept world trade since the 1980s. Commodity markets are distorted on both the export and the import sides, with serious implications for world...

The onset of the financial crisis in September 2008 and the subsequent 'Great Trade Collapse' (Baldwin 2009), many countries actively used trade policy instruments as part of their response to the global recession. Governments pursued a mix of trade liberalization, trade promotion, and trade...

The Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations has been ongoing for 10 years, and given political cycles in major countries, there is not much hope for a rapid conclusion. The topics on the table are important, and in principle there is enough substance for all countries to...

The current post-crisis environment and fragile economic recovery increases the importance of aid for trade. Global rebalancing and tightened fiscal budgets in the short to medium term also place renewed emphasis on aid effectiveness. This note identifies four options to enhance the...