What went so wrong at Cancun?
The meeting had become a focal point for grievances. It had lost its moorings as an opportunity to negotiate down some trade barriers. … [The sudden end of the talks] was really a very sad moment, because developing nations had within their grasp a set of proposals, if they would have just taken some of them, that could have increased their incomes, raised the standard of living in their countries — and they walked away from it. Q: What about the conflict over the agricultural subsidies the EU and US pay farmers, and which developing nations want to end? A: I have some sympathy for the developing countries. It is hard for their farmers to sell goods in markets where the government subsidies are so high. One of the statistics that people love to bandy about is that cows in the European Union receive more support per capita than income per capita in some countries in the developing world. It is a pretty staggering situation. Q: Let’s talk about trade facilitation. You almost got to se
