India coalesced the developing nations in 2001 and forced the rich countries to accept the “Development” part in the WTO’s Doha Development Round. Now that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has figured out that development as pushed by India means the rich countries give and the developing countries take, his departure message this week at the WTO Ministerial Conference (MC 11) in Buenos Aires is more sectoral agreements. UN-ification is the term now given to the WTO by old hands that have watched the organization evolve to where it is today. In the past, rich countries agreed among themselves where to liberalize and then shared their concessions as nonreciprocal benefits to the developing countries via the most...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.