Lopsided WTO Proposal A new proposal for WTO disciplines on agriculture subsidies is correct in one respect but lopsided in other ways. The International Institute for Sustainable Development and the International Food Policy Research Institute focus on helping developing countries and so its proposal for disciplining domestic agricultural supports is lopsided in that way. It notes that the U.S. and EU have historically been the largest subsidizers, but it ignores that they are also the most open and largest importers of agricultural products. These rich players use subsidies instead of border measures to support farmers while developing countries can’t afford subsidies and so they use border measures. It is not an either-or scenario...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.