Agriculture

Limited Progress In Attempt To Revive Doha Talks

The final countdown starts today for efforts to revive the Doha global trade round, after two days of talks in which World Trade Organisation members have made only limited progress in resolving their most stubborn differences.

WTO Treaty Talks Close To Collapse

Key mediators warned yesterday that failure to agree on a draft of a global trade treaty at next week's gathering of the World Trade Organisation could doom the talks indefinitely.

Farm Subsidies and Africa: Cotton's Not King

SAINT PAUL, Minnesota It is increasingly asserted that American and European agricultural subsidies inhibit prosperity in the developing world, particularly in Africa. Critics argue that rich nations have aggressively dismantled trade barriers on industrial goods, yet shamelessly refused to do so for agriculture, where many African nations would have a comparative advantage.

Japan To Hang Tough On Tariffs At WTO

Worried that too few of its farm products may be exempted from massive tariff cuts, Japan plans to keep up the pressure on other World Trade Organization members as they try to hammer out a multilateral trade agreement.

Japan's Refusal Of American Apples Hurting Michigan Growers

Japan's 10-year-old import restrictions against U.S.-grown apples are hurting Michigan's growers, even though the state doesn't ship apples there. The Japanese government virtually stopped importing American apples in 1994, saying it feared they would bring in fire blight, a bacterial disease that can reduce yields and kill trees.

Mad Cow 'Firewalls' Just a Smokescreen

It's been seven months since the discovery of a mad cow-infected Holstein in Washington state, time enough for the administration to have developed a comprehensive regulatory response to protect the U.S. beef supply. Indeed, to listen to the rhetoric of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, you'd think the administration had done just that. In

France Considers WTO Proposal On Agriculture "Unacceptable"

PARIS, July 21 (Xinhuanet) -- French President Jacques Chirac described Wednesday as "unacceptable" a proposal made by World Trade Organization (WTO) on agriculture to restart the Doha round multilateral negotiations.

A Bitter Tase of Honey

The cosy-sounding world of honey - redolent of toasted crumpets and jars with flowery labels in country shops - has been going through turbulent times. When Northumbrian honey farmer Willie Robson blew the whistle on a fellow beekeeper, Richard Brodie, for potting Argentine honey and passing it off as Scottish borders honey, the court case that resulted last week before

Mediators Vow Best Efforts To Find Global Trade Agreement At WTO Meeting

Key mediators warned Tuesday that failure to agree on a draft of a global trade treaty at next week's gathering of the World Trade Organization could doom talks indefinitely.