World Perspectives

WTO and Trump; Analytically Correct, Predictably Wrong

WTO and Trump To quote Wikipedia, James Bacchus is “an American statesman, scholar, writer, and politician". He also served as a founding member and twice chairman of the WTO’s Appellate Body. He now writes from the Libertarian Cato Institute and provocatively asks why the WTO is not pushing back on President Trump and his “might makes right” economic coercion? After all, Brazil is pushing back and a collective 165 countries using the WTO’s dispute settlement process and then retaliating against the U.S. would have a major impact.  Instead, the WTO has taken the high road. The organization’s annual Public Forum kicked off today in Geneva and its content is notable. The WTO’s annual public outre...

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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.

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