Fair Trade Fair and Symposium Coming
In July, IATP's Patricia Jurewicz traveled to Hong Kong to meet with nongovernmental organizations and host city organizers to plan for the second International Fair Trade Fair and Symposium. The event will coincide with the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, December 13-18.

At the last WTO ministerial, IATP helped organize the first such fair in Cancún which showcased certified fair-trade products from around the world. The fair trade symposium focuses on topics relevant to WTO delegates as well as visiting producers. These events are being organized by an international steering committee, which consists of IATP (United States); Équiterre (Canada), Asia Fair Trade Forum (Philippines), Oxfam Hong Kong and Gerster Consulting (Switzerland). The symposium will be organized in close cooperation with the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development.

For further information on the Hong Kong Fair Trade Fair, contact Patricia Jurewicz at pjurewicz@iatp.org.

You can follow the latest developments on the WTO Hong Kong ministerial at tradeobservatory.org/hongkong.

Peace Coffee Celebrates Open House
IATP's certified fair-trade coffee company, Peace Coffee, held its annual open house in June. Those who came to the Peace Coffee Roastery at the Phillips Eco Enterprise Building in Minneapolis were treated to roasting demonstrations, espresso and sample coffee from around the world.

Visitors also saw slide shows about where Peace Coffee sources its coffee in Ethiopia, Mexico and Nicaragua.

To find out more about Peace Coffee, go to peacecoffee.com.

Congress to Decide on CAFTA Soon
The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will likely be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of July. The trade agreement is a bad deal for farmers in the U.S. and Central America. It continues a failed deregulation model set in the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has resulted in low crop prices, increased agricultural dumping, fewer farmers and increased legal rights for multinational corporations.

IATP has written three papers on CAFTA covering how the deal is bad for sugar farmers, its impact on ethanol markets and how CAFTA erodes farmers' rights.

All three papers can be found at tradeobservatory.org.

To contact your member of Congress, you can visit Public Citizen's Web site.

New Report: CAFTA Would Increase Ethanol Imports
The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will likely lead to increased ethanol exports largely from Brazil entering into the U.S. tariff-free, according to a new report released by IATP.

The report found that agribusiness firms are already investing heavily in Brazil and Central America in an effort to take advantage of the CAFTA ethanol provisions. Under CAFTA, if Central American countries convert Brazilian ethanol into fuel for the U.S., 240 million gallons of ethanol could be exported into the U.S. tariff-free in 2005. If ethanol feedstock produced in Central America is part of a 50 percent blend with Brazilian ethanol, unlimited amounts could be exported into the U.S. tariff-free. The developing ethanol trading system is not designed to benefit Central America's farmers. Rather it allows multinational corporations to play countries off each other in a race to the bottom for the cheapest price.

Read the full report, CAFTA's Impact on U.S. Ethanol Market, at iatp.org.

Decision Soon on Mississippi River Lock Expansion
For nearly a decade, the Army Corps of Engineers has tried to gain congressional approval for a massive $3.1 billion expansion of Mississippi River locks. Despite numerous studies discrediting Corps rationale for lock expansion, Congress is expected to consider the project this month. IATP has written extensively on how the project will do little for rural communities and where the money could be better spent.

Read more about the proposed Mississippi River lock expansion project at iatp.org.

WTO Proposal Weakens Development Round
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Framework Agreement, currently under negotiation in Geneva, would actually increase levels of allowable trade distorting agricultural support by the U.S., according to a new fact sheet by IATP Director of Research Steve Suppan.

The Framework Agreement allows for an expansion of the Blue Box, a section of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. This expansion would include U.S. counter-cyclical payments, currently in use under the U.S. 2002 Farm Bill. These counter-cyclical payments were ruled illegal by a WTO dispute panel in a Brazilian challenge of the U.S. cotton program.

The full fact sheet, WTO Agricultural Negotiations: The New Blue Box Proposal on Domestic Support and the Doha Development Round, is available at tradeobservatory.org.

Mexico's Congress Prepares for Hong Kong WTO Ministerial
In late June, IATP's Steve Suppan attended the Mexican Congress Center for Sustainable Development and Food Sovereignty Seminar in Mexico City. The seminar is considered historic by some because it was the first time that Mexican trade negotiators had met publicly with members of Mexico's Congress.

Suppan spoke to members of Mexico's Congress and trade negotiators on the key issues at play in the current Doha Development Round of negotiations at the WTO.

Suppan's talk is available at tradeobservatory.org.

Eye on America: Social Watch
For the last seven years, IATP has contributed an analysis of U.S. programs to address poverty in the international report Social Watch. Each year, Social Watch reports on national commitments by countries around the world to international agreements to address poverty and gender equality. Such agreements include the World Summit for Social Development, the Millennium Declaration and the IV World Conference on Women.

Eye on America: Social Watch 1997-2004 is now available at iatp.org.

Global Democracy: Civil Society Visions and Strategies
In early June, about 400 participants from 45 countries gathered in Montreal to share civil society's perspectives on the key issues that determine the state of global democracy. As a unique gathering of governments, private entities, intergovernmental organizations and, mainly, civil society representatives, G05 provided a stage for cross-sectoral dialogue on how to democratize the international system of governance. Participants developed proposals to tackle the democratic deficit plaguing global governance, visions and strategies which will guide discussions and action leading up to the Millennium +5 Summit at the United Nations in September and beyond.

IATP Vice President for Global Programs, Kristin Dawkins, was a lead organizer of the event. She organized a discussion on international treaties and international law. The article she wrote for the conference, The Hierarchy of International Law, can be found at tradeobservatory.org.

More details on the meeting can be found at g05.org.

IATP Fact Sheets and Reports
You never know what you might find at IATP's new publications page. It houses a listing of reports and fact sheet from all our programs, covering WTO's NAMA negotiations to the Cost of Cheap food to the Smart Fish Guide. You can find them all at one easy-to-find location: iatp.org/iatp/publications.cfm.

Donate to IATP! You can help. IATP does very important work to keep family farmers on the land, to ensure the safety of our food supply and to preserve biodiversity and the environment for future generations. We cannot do this work without you. Your tax-deductible contribution will help us secure a sustainable world. Please make your tax-deductible contribution today. If you would like more information about our programs, or if you would like to discuss different contribution options, please contact Kate Hoff, Development Director, at khoff@iatp.org or (612) 870-3404. We appreciate your interest in our work. Thank you for your support.

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IATP News is an occasional publication reporting on recent events and activities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). It is sent to board members, supporters, partners and friends. If you want to learn more about any particular item or if you do not want to receive this newsletter, send email to Communications Coordinator Ben Lilliston at blilliston@iatp.org or call: 612-870-3416. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
Mark Ritchie, President
2105 First Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404 USA
Tel. 1 (612) 870-0453 Fax. 1 (612) 870-4846
Email: iatp@iatp.org Web: iatp.org