Sallie James (Author at The Cato Institute)

Government and Food Prices (Daily Podcast)

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Plenty of Blame for All on Doha Collapse (Commentary)

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

We can expect the usual finger-pointing as World Trade Organization (WTO) members come to grips with the collapse of the perennially struggling Doha round of trade talks. Members and trade observers went through a roller-coaster ride of imminent success and imminent failure many times during the ...

Cato Scholars Comment on Recent WTO Talks (Scholar Comments)

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The record nine-day-long meeting of 30 trade ministers in Geneva is putting trade-watchers on a roller-coaster ride of imminent breakthrough followed by imminent collapse. Although members seem to agree on the broad outlines of a deal on Friday, by Monday they were back to bickering about smaller issues such as the extent to which they can shield agricultural products from import surges. By clinging to the mercantilist mindset of the WTO, whereby any openings to imports that would benefit consumers are seen as concessions that must be matched by export opportunities, trade ministers are putting the multilateral trading system in peril. Meanwhile, the commercial world continues to trade and to operate around the barriers that ministers seem incapable of lifting.

Cato Scholar Comments on Collapse of Doha Round (Scholar Comments)

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Doha round of WTO talks was put out of its misery today after a ministerial session that has been agonizing for trade-watchers to behold. But the misery for millions of the world's poor, who suffer under rich-country agricultural tariffs and subsidies, will continue unless politicians find the will to lower farm trade barriers unilaterally.

Equally, consumers looking for lower prices have much to lament, as do exporters who saw market opportunities close. Alas, at the end many negotiators appeared more interested in the political benefits of "standing up" to liberalization measures than they were in the growth-promoting benefits of freer trade. So long as that mindset remains, the liberalization trend which has created so much prosperity since World War II is now in danger of stagnating or worse.

Cato Scholar Comments on U.S. Cutting Farm Aid (Scholar Comments)

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

While the U.S. offer on agriculture is a welcome signal of commitment to liberalizing trade through the Doha round, it is woefully inadequate for American taxpayers, and may be inadequate for the purposes of sealing a deal. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that American farmers will receive between $7 billion and $8 billion per year (although a new revenue protection scheme could potentially add billions more and threaten America's cap on allowable subsidies). While that is still too much of a burden for U.S. taxpayers, it is well below yesterday's official offer from the United States and thus will not appease WTO members who are rightly calling for 'real cuts' to agricultural subsidies and price supports.

Cato Scholars Comment on Latest Round of Doha Talks (Scholar Comments)

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Doha, the trade talks round that wouldn't die, faces a crunch moment just when the world needs a boost to growth and prosperity. Although not the only way to achieve the improvements in productivity and income that follow freer trade, multilateral trade negotiations provide important political cover to governments to reduce trade barriers and subsidies. The Doha round must conclude by August if it is to avoid a prolonged hiatus (maybe until 2012), by which time the world economy would have moved on. Already some pressing issues -- such as the misguided export barriers on food products in a counterproductive effort to secure food supply -- are not covered by the Doha round negotiations. If the WTO is to avoid further falling into irrelevancy, it needs to reach a truly trade liberalizing conclusion this week.