World Trade Organization

Last day at the 9th WTO Ministerial: Food security hangs in the balance

IATP's Shefali Sharma is reporting from the 9th WTO Ministerial in Bali, Indonesia. 2 p.m., Bali, Indonesia

Draft deal lays groundwork for future negotiations on exempting food security programs from WTO disputes

Update: The ministerial text was accepted on Saturday morning with minor changes to assuage Cuba's concerns. See a video report from Shefali Sharma regarding Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia's move to block consensus on the agreement on the morning of December 7.  IATP's Shefali Sharma is reporting from the 9th WTO Ministerial in Bali, Indonesia.

The WTO Bali Ministerial: Doha’s last gasp?

In the category of “praise more fit for a eulogy,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman is reported to have said of the last minute negotiations to prepare a package for upcoming WTO Ministerial in Bali: "It's unclear whether they will succeed or not. We certainly hope they will succeed.

Calling on USTR to support global food security in Bali

People in the U.S. may still remember how the streets were shut down in Seattle exactly 14 years ago (1999) as trade diplomats from all around the world gathered for the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 3rd Ministerial meeting.

Who’s afraid of COOL?

To truly see the power of agribusiness, and its growing disconnect from regular people and farmers, look no further than the current dust-up over Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).

Agriculture on the Road to Bali

There are several proposals on the WTO’s agricultural negotiations table, but the dominant discussion ahead of December’s Bali Ministerial Conference is the November 2012 proposal put forward by 46 countries under the auspices of the G-33.

Big Meat imitates Big Tobacco in fighting the public’s right to know

Eight meatpacking industry groups recently sued to stop implementation of the popular Country of Origin Label (COOL) law (sup

Crisis or opportunity in the multilateral trade system?

October 10, 2012 – It was fascinating to attend the WTO public symposium at the end of September, an event framed around the question: “Is Multilateralism in Crisis?” The question invited far more yesses than noes, although there was a healthy sprinkling of determined optimists in the crowd as well. Yet the optimists did not talk much about trade.

Off the rails: Food security and the WTO

Washington D.C., December 21, 2011 – At a World Social Forum event in 2006, Walden Bello warned that the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was careening down a track to disaster. Negotiators urgently needed to pull back before the Round went off a cliff, the founder of Focus on the Global South said.

Poor countries' food import bills soar under WTO rules

FAO produces an excellent state of the world's agriculture twice a year called Food Outlook (in all 6 U.N.