Save the Date: April 22, 2006!

Next year, IATP will celebrate 20 years of working for farmers and rural communities, environmental sustainability, and a healthy food system. Please join IATP staff past and present to celebrate IATP's work and honor Mark Ritchie on April 22 in Minneapolis. The entire weekend will be filled with events, tours, awards, eating and drinking. Come see old friends, meet new ones and help us chart the next 20 years.

More details about our 20-year celebration will be coming soon to iatp.org.

Peace Coffee: The Perfect Holiday Gift

Still wondering what to get friends or relatives? What if you could give something that would help farmers in poor regions around the world, support IATP, and share some of the greatest coffee on the planet? You can do all these by sending a gift of Peace Coffee, IATP's 100 percent fair-trade and organic coffee company. Peace Coffee sells certified fair trade coffee from producer cooperatives in Nicaragua, Columbia, Guatemala, Mexico, Ethiopia and Indonesia.

Give Peace Coffee a chance this holiday at peacecoffee.com.

New Briefing Report on Agriculture and the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial

When the World Trade Organization meets next month in Hong Kong, agriculture negotiations will take center stage. Negotiators are far apart with little time to find common ground. A new briefing report by IATP outlines the key agriculture issues facing WTO negotiators. The report, Sailing Close to the Wind: Navigating the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial, includes sections on:

• The U.S. WTO agriculture proposal of October 10. The U.S. proposal, hailed by some as a major step forward, would allow a deeply flawed system in agricultural trade to continue.
• Proposed Blue Box expansion in the Agreement on Agriculture. A framework agreement last year expanded the Blue Box to include U.S. countercyclical payments. We explain why an expanded Blue Box undercuts its original intent and is essential to the U.S. agriculture proposal.
• Food Aid and the WTO. The European Union is pushing hard for disciplines on food aid that would require major changes in U.S. food aid. We discuss the proper role for the WTO in improving food aid programs.
• GATS and agriculture. The General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) is often considered to have little to do with agriculture. We outline how GATS negotiations could have severe impacts for farmers, particularly in poor countries.
• Policy coherence and agricultural trade. For decades, those supporting trade liberalization have touted huge potential benefits for poor countries. Now, after 10 years of the WTO, World Bank economists are downgrading those benefits.

The report also includes updates on previous fact sheets published by IATP, including:

• Navigating nonagricultural market access negotiations
• Agreement on Agriculture glossary
• 10 Ways to Fix Agricultural Trade
• U.S. dumping on world markets
• Human rights and the WTO

You can find the full report at iatp.org.

Stay up-to-date with what's happening at the Hong Kong Ministerial at radiohongkong.org.

Global Trade e-Education Program Launched

The Earth Council Learning Center for Sustainable Development and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy are launching an innovative Global Trade e-Education Program to train stakeholders around the world on international trade. The program has three components. The first is country-based programs, which are currently taking place in the Philippines and China. These programs are designed to train a critical mass of stakeholders at the country level. The second is a global certificate program open to participants around the world who wish to acquire a basic understanding of international trade particularly the WTO. The certificate program is undergoing testing and will be ready for open enrollment in mid 2006. The third component is a planned master's program that will be conducted mostly using interactive e-learning.

IATP President Mark Ritchie remarked, "We are very excited to be using e-learning technology to reach out to an unprecedented number of trade stakeholders. We have never had this opportunity to offer world-class learning to so many. We hope to make a difference in helping developing countries to better understand the world trading system."

The Global Trade Literacy Program is hosted at the Earth Council Learning Center for Sustainable Development, an e-learning portal that features courses on global trade, climate change and sustainability.

10 Lessons for Agriculture after Katrina

Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the Gulf Coast, and its impact there will be felt for decades. But the impact of the storm goes well beyond the Gulf Coast and will likely be felt by farmers and consumers around the country for years to come. From higher energy costs to a dearth of transport and storage for fertilizer and grain, Katrina reminds us of the fragility of our commodity networks.

In a new fact sheet, IATP's Mark Muller outlines 10 lessons for U.S. agriculture in the wake of Katrina. Read more at iatp.org.

Prairie Rural Action Launches Regional Meeting

Over 150 people representing the many faces of rural America gathered in November for two days at the Fargo, N.D., convention center to develop an agenda for revitalizing the countryside and rural communities. Fargo was the first in a series of regional meetings to be held around the country. It brought together people from the Dakotas, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana and Iowa.

The meeting included several plenary speakers, starting with Rev. Shawnthea Monroe-Mueller, First Congregational United Church of Christ, speaking on progressive values and beliefs. A series of discussions were followed by panels that focused on new Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and rural youth. Mark Ritchie, President of IATP, gave a rousing speech closing out the afternoon sessions that highlighted the need for a coming together with a common purpose.

The next day opened with a prediction of a snowy blizzard blowing in from Montana. Despite this challenge, almost all the participants continued the discussion and had an opportunity to share views and ideas. The conference ended with a high-spirited presentation from Ali Webb and Dee Davis on framing rural issues. Look for links to the online version of this workshop on the Prairie Rural Action Web page, www.prairieruralaction.org, as well as follow-up reports outlining the agenda developed at the Fargo meeting.

China, Agriculture and the World Trade Organization

While increased trade has largely positively affected China's manufacturing sector, WTO accession will likely result in major upheaval for rural residents, according to a new analysis by IATP. Without complementary domestic policy changes, increased agricultural imports will reduce both the demand and wages for farm labor. The report concluded that WTO accession will cause many of those who remain in the agricultural sector to switch production to those products in which China has a comparative advantage (such as horticulture and meats for export). Domestic policy initiatives are crucial for the environmental health of rural China in both land tenure and incentives toward organic agriculture and away from dependence on chemical farm inputs. Most importantly, the government will have to invest in China's rural areas, especially in the poorer western regions.

Read the full report at tradeobservatory.org.

Preventing Harm to Growing Brains

IATP and the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment are sponsoring "Preventing Harm to Growing Brains: Environmental Contributors to Learning and Developmental Disabilities in Children," a conference scheduled for January 21, 2006, in Minneapolis

Keynote speakers are Leonardo Trasande, M.D., MPP, Assistant Professor for Community and Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York, N.Y., and Assistant Director for the Mount Sinai Center for Children's Health and the Environment; and Ted Schettler, M.D., MPH, Science Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network.

The conference is open to educators, parents, children's advocates, researchers, policymakers, health professionals and others.

More information and online registration are available at iatp.org/foodandhealth.

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.

You can help support IATP by contributing online. We thank you for your continued support!

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