It's time for Japan's negotiators to protect rice farmers in other ways besides high tariffs, argues an economist at Hitotsubashi University, after six days of frustrating world trade talks that ended Sunday in Hong Kong.
The Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks remains on its feet -- but just barely, many fear. The Hong Kong ministerial meeting, while agreeing to a joint statement, failed to bridge serious differences that stand in the way of a sweeping global trade deal.
To keep the talks alive, the WTO's members agreed on a modest aid package for the poorest nations, a date for scrapping one type of farm subsidy and an April 30 deadline to hammer out an outline on the most contentious issue -- how to open up farm markets.