Trade opportunity

"Both the United States and the United Nations project food prices will remain high, at least for the next year. Should these predictions hold true, economists say food prices may well continue to prompt tariff reductions, which are seen as the best way to promote increased production (Marketplace). Countries scrambling to fill grocery shelves may be willing to bend where they haven’t previously. If major exporters start exporting less, this in turn could make farm industries in developed countries like the United States feel less threatened by imports. In the Journal article cited above, Peter Mandelson, the EU trade minister, notes a shift already afoot: “There’s much less of a need for protectionism than when we started [the Doha Round of global trade talks] in 2001.”" (Thanks D.)