Technically the WTO agricultural negotiations started at the WTO in March 2000. But in terms of outcomes, nothing can be expected until a more comprehensive round is launched, because only then are intersectoral tradeoffs possible. Such a launch seems most unlikely before the latter half of 2001, and possibly later still. Once it is launched, the negotiations will take time the UR took eight years to conclude. I am confident, however, that perseverance will be rewarded, because the huge levels of agricultural protection in industrial countries cannot be justified on either efficiency or equity grounds, and greater policy transparency is exposing that fact to ever-larger numbers of voters.
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