In Search of a Grand Vision for World Trade

Agricultural subsidies are expected to be the main stumbling block at this week's WTO meeting in Cancun. As developing countries try to stop the agricultural policies that former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo calls nothing less than disguised "dumping", developed countries – notably the US and the EU – continue to offer only mildly progressive reforms. On the other hand, Zedillo points out that developing countries are also unwilling to lower their industrial tariff levels, suggesting that all countries have to learn to compromise. If creating a freer trade regime is the goal of the current talks, then all nations will need to eliminate some domestically popular policies. – YaleGlobal