After near eradication in the 20th century, piracy is again imposing significant costs on the conduct of international trade in the 21st century. In response, there has been a significant increase in the provision of anti-piracy services from both the private and public sectors. The costs...

The technological revolutions that underlie the new information age will tax considerably the abilities of existing international institutions to bring order to international relations. Rapid rates of change may lead to chaos if international institutions cannot evolve to accommodate those...

Professionals in the field of international trade policy tend to receive their knowledge on-the-job, often with a considerable component of mentoring. While this was a reasonable knowledge transfer mechanism in a period when interest in trade policy was confined to narrow constituencies and a...

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...

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...

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...

Despite strong scientific evidence and representations made by international scientific organizations, a considerable number of countries have imposed import bans on pork in response to the H1N1 pandemic. The imposition of these barriers is contrary to WTO rules. The motivation for the...

Interest in the Doha Round appears to be waning among those who should be its major stakeholders. While the negotiations are still interesting to trade policy professionals, the apparently endless negotiations and increasingly trivial nature of any progress that is announced – at least...

International trade can be inhibited in two ways; through the use of mechanisms that directly alter the flow of goods and poor transparency in the rules of trade. The former includes tariffs and other border measures, subsidies and non-tariff barriers. The effect on trade flows resulting from...

Since its inception the GATT, and subsequently the WTO, has been able to operate in a fashion that is more consistent with a club than an inclusive organization that encouraged the active participation of all its members. The WTO Ministerial Meeting in Doha in November 2001 appears to have been...