WTO Objectives versus Leverage Cairns Group members called for a WTO agreement to halve the amount of domestic supports allowed in agriculture and a subset called for negotiating entitlements such as special and differential treatment by developing countries. Proponents claim that globally, subsidies to agriculture have increased from $341 billion to $772 billion over 15 years (5.6 percent/year) and predict they are on pace to exceed $2 billion by 2030 (a 10 percent annual expansion). They also call for improvements to market access. The goals are laudable, but the missing component is leverage. The WTO requires consensus to change the rules and countries that are newly gaining the economic power to achieve the subsidy levels they a...
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.
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...