Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Monday Roundup: Tuesday Edition
Yesterday's roundup was eaten by blogger.com, and seems to have vanished into the ether, never to be recovered. Which is a pity, because it was stunningly informative, while also being entertaining. Concise, yet insightful. Basically what we're saying is that it was a post of such high caliber as to make strong men weep; and the Pulitzer Committee, realizing that no other journalist anywhere could ever brush the hem of such dazzling literary quality, would have closed up shop forever.
The world is a lesser place for its loss, trust us.
The major story was that the latest Doha Talks at the WTO have collapsed. Or maybe they've just stalled; it depends on whom you ask. The BBC has an excellent Q&A article explaining the origin of the breakdown, and also lays out why it's so important the talks get done this year (hint: it's Congress's fault, as usual).
The takeaway for you, the manufacturing professional, is this: because the US would not agree to change the way it deals out agricultural subsidies, other nations refused to make concessions that would free up the global trade of manufactured goods. Naturally, the EU blames the US (and vice versa). US farmers are breathing a sigh of relief, though: no deal, they say, is better than a bad deal.
The world is a lesser place for its loss, trust us.
The major story was that the latest Doha Talks at the WTO have collapsed. Or maybe they've just stalled; it depends on whom you ask. The BBC has an excellent Q&A article explaining the origin of the breakdown, and also lays out why it's so important the talks get done this year (hint: it's Congress's fault, as usual).
The takeaway for you, the manufacturing professional, is this: because the US would not agree to change the way it deals out agricultural subsidies, other nations refused to make concessions that would free up the global trade of manufactured goods. Naturally, the EU blames the US (and vice versa). US farmers are breathing a sigh of relief, though: no deal, they say, is better than a bad deal.
