Saps in Negotiations The U.S. is being overly conciliatory toward the G-33 and their demand for a food security exemption to WTO agriculture disciplines. Tentatively, the gambit is a temporary peace clause agreement to make the upcoming ministerial meeting in Bali a success, followed by the negotiation of a permanent solution. The G-33 wants to be able to hold government stockpiles of local food and rig domestic prices so that their farmers get paid more while their consumers pay less, in order to deal with what they charge are excessive rates of inflation in food prices - excessive being a slippery term. One irony is that the U.S. is concurrently hoping to reach an agreement at next month's meeting of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation to r...

TAGS – Wheat, Livestock, Asia, North America