Moving on from the WTO Often it is what people say when they are leaving a job that has the most meaning. Departing U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Dennis Shea had his assessment of the institution. He described the WTO’s core problem as, “not a lack of trust but a lack of like-mindedness.” Under the old GATT, the G-7 economies controlled over half the world’s GDP and were all democracies. As former New Zealand trade official Tim Groser notes, the rich countries made the commitments, and the developing countries were takers, never being asked to contribute anything. Today the G-7 represents just 31 percent of the global economy and its share will continue to decline. The largest economy is state-led China, which declares...
What You Need to Know Today: President Trump claimed the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was over, as both sides accused one another of violating the terms of the agreement. Commercial vessels are increasingly steering clear of the Strait of Hormuz as security risks escalate following Iran...
Key Takeaways: The CME Group is launching new 90 percent Lean Beef and 50 percent Lean Beef futures and options contracts in July. There are five key factors that must be present in physical markets and futures contract specifications for futures contracts to become successful. The two l...
From WPI Consulting
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.