The disaster reminds us of shared vulnerabilities and a need to know what’s going on The world’s third largest economy has been devastated by catastrophe upon catastrophe. Clearly, the repercussions in the global marketplace will be far-reaching, long-lasting and...
Weed Killer App
Glyphosate, the world’s herbicide of choice, may be a victim of its popularity While debate continues over the pros and cons of planting sugar beets genetically modified to be “Roundup Ready” [see A Time to Plant, a Time to Sue], it appears that nature has done some...
PanaMAX (or mini) Prospects?
A bigger canal still faces competition from the Suez, rail by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor The Panama Canal will become a more viable option for trade between Asia and the eastern U.S. after the waterway’s expansion is completed in 2014, but I question whether it will...
Talking Trade with Colombia
Gauging the odds on an FTA, counting lost-opportunity costs In February, the Obama administration pledged to “intensify” talks with Colombia on the free trade agreement initially negotiated by the US in 2006. Now Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana), who is leading a trade...
The Latin American Decade
LATAM may be on course for growth, but diversification is needed Writing in the Miami Herald earlier this month, Andres Oppenheimer asks whether 2011 will be the dawn of the “Latin American decade” – as a recent Standard & Poor’s webcast argues [you can access a...
Biofueled Ag Trade
USDA 10-year agricultural projections concede major role to ethanol and biodiesel The US Department of Agriculture just released its long-term forecast for the farm sector. USDA Agricultural Projections for 2011-20 cover sector indicators, commodities, and trade. Key...
From the Dregs, Export Success
Biofuel byproduct goes to market as a livestock feed Blogging about the first the U.S. Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission to Peru and Ecuador earlier this month, Michael Scuse of the U.S. Department of Agriculture tells of visiting a Peruvian feed mill and...
AmericasBarometer 2010
Taking the measure of democratic values and the impact of the downturn The Americas Society/Council on the Americas (AS/COA) is hosting a discussion about the findings of the 2010 AmericasBarometer Survey, in New York City tomorrow morning from 8:30 am to 10:00 am...
On the Trail of Aid to Haiti
Miami Herald cites Datamyne stats on charitable goods that got only so far “At Haitian port, desperately needed aid sits and sits and sits …” headlines a Miami Herald investigation into why so much aid has reached so few in a country as beleaguered by bureaucratic...
An End to the 16-Year Banana War?
Pending trade deal gives an edge to Latin America in the EU Well-intentioned it may have been, but the EU’s 1993 decision to slap tariffs on bananas from Latin America while allowing bananas from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to enter its markets...