There's a nice NY Times profile of Dani Rodrik, highlighting the need for social insurance to promote political support for free trade, at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/business/worldbusiness/30trade.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 (login required). Rodrik, Jacob Hacker and others are quoted

Here's a link to an article, in a publication called Engineering News, about recent appointee AB David Unterhalter.  Among other things, he discussed his goals as an AB Member: But what are his personal ambitions arising from the WTO appointment? “What I would hope, personally, to have achieved

Two recent articles discuss the legal and political aspects of a U.S. - Taiwan FTA, including the role of China and East Asia generally. Claude Barfield of AEI writes: Turning to the political and strategic background to the proposal for a US-Taiwan FTA, it should first be acknowledged that

According to Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss.  He also said: ... if the Doha round negotiations could not be revived, then differences would move to international courts in coming months. "The lawyers will have a field day," Truss told Reuters in an interview before traveling to Davos, Switzerland. "

There is an interesting ranking of the WTO-citizenship of  member states available from the WTO summer program at the HEI . Guess who's #1? (hint: not Singapore or HK, the usual suspects for die-hard free traders). Several CIS states and middle-eastern states score very high in the ranking, and

There is a panel on trade at Davos, among 229 panels.  But there is also a panel on "The Scent of Success," "Classic Clarets," and "Reveal Your True Colours."  My personal favorite, from a very quick scan:  "Brands:  Today's Gods."

The European Union, Australia, Argentina and Brazil have joined Canada in a complaint against the United States over allegedly illegal  subsidies to American corn growers. Although corn is clearly an agricultural product, it is interesting to note the following comment by Clodoaldo Hugueney, Brazilian ambassador to the WTO: "This

For those who oppose the Iraq war, there is some small consolation if you also oppose farm subsidies: US Agriculture Committee head Tom Harkin says farm subsidies are likely to be reduced, because the Iraq war is becoming a "black hole" in the US Budget. Mr Harkin says

In an op-ed published in the WSJ (here's a version re-published on another site: http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=6820 ), former USTR Robert Zoellick has called for a new trade initiative in the Americas: This year President Bush and the Democratic-led Congress should launch a new