ABSTRACT
The global agricultural trade regime is in the midst of a legitimacy crisis. Despite being shaped by ideas that trade liberalization will bring benefits to all (see Wilkinson, this volume), the regime in practice has locked in an imbalanced set of rules and practices that have contributed to vulnerability in the world’s poorest countries. This system has contributed to hunger and poverty, especially in a world that is facing ongoing volatility in food prices. Although the trade system has been a contributor to vulnerability of developing countries, the global governance response in the face of a growing crisis in the food sector has been woefully inadequate. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round, although it was supposed to level the agricultural trade playing field, has been deadlocked for over a decade. Meanwhile, the imbalances in the international agricultural trade regime have been further institutionalized through new norms and practices governing global commodity chains in which developing countries participate.
