What's New

By Antoine Bouet and David Laborde

We commit ourselves to comprehensive negotiations aimed at: substantial improvements in market access; reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies; and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support. We agree that special and differential treatment for developing countries shall be an integral part of all elements of the negotiations.
—Declaration from the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference. Doha, Qatar, November 14, 2001

By Luca Salvatici

By Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla

I will first provide a brief summary of where the WTO negotiations currently stand along the Road to Bali, based on a summary given by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo at the Informal Trade Negotiations Committee meeting of October 25, 2013.
The Ministerial Meeting in Bali will be the ninth ministerial meeting held since the WTO was created. Prior to December’s meeting, WTO members are currently negotiating on the “Bali deliverables,” which include: 1) Least Development Countries and Development issues; 2) Agriculture; and 3) Trade Facilitation.

The latest FEWS Net Monthly Price Watch was released yesterday. The report sees declines in the majority of international prices, with the exception of soybeans.

The October issue of the FAO Monthly News Report on Grains was released yesterday. The report covers ongoing global and regional trends in grain prices and policies. This month's report includes articles on record Indian wheat export levels, progress on WTO food stockholding negotiations, and an anticipated record corn harvest in the Philippines.