Conference to explore current and future status of agricultural trade

Monday, November 1, 2004 WRITER: Julie Camp, 706/542-5172, lawcomm@uga.edu CONTACT: C. Donald Johnson, 706/542-5135, johnsocd@uga.edu Conference to explore current and future status of agricultural trade ATHENS, Ga. – Big changes in the international agricultural market are on the horizon in the wake of recent World Trade Organization developments. In August, WTO negotiators from 147 countries announced a breakthrough in talks to liberalize agricultural trade. Additionally, WTO dispute resolution panels delivered stunning decisions against the U.S. cotton subsidy program and the European Union\u27s sugar subsidies the same month. These issues will be the focus of a conference, Agriculture and the WTO – Subsidies in the Cross Hairs, at the University of Georgia on November 16. Sponsored by the Dean Rusk Center – International, Comparative and Graduate Legal Studies and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the conference will begin at 9 a.m. in the law school\u27s Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom. The forum is open to the public, and registration is not required. Conference speakers include international authorities from senior levels of government, the private sector and the legal profession. Two of the experts representing the private sector are Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, and David Frederickson, president of the National Farmers Union. International dignitaries Tassos Haniotis, deputy head of cabinet and commissioner for agriculture in the European Union, and Evandro S. Didonet, minister counselor of the Brazilian Embassy, will discuss the prospects for success of the WTO Doha Round of negotiations. California Congressman Cal Dooley will present the latest opinions from Capitol Hill, and other speakers will include attorneys representing both sides of the WTO cotton subsidy case involving the United States and Brazil. For additional information, please visit the conference’s Web site at http://www.uga.edu/ruskcenter/test2%20schedule.htm or contact Nelda Parker at 706/542-7875 or nparker@uga.edu. #