Purdue News

March 31, 2000 Global trade representatives will meet at Purdue WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For a few days in April, Purdue University could be called the center of world trade analysis. Representatives of 18 international and national trade organizations will meet on the West Lafayette campus April 12-14 to discuss a program that allows them to share trade data and analyses of commodities and manufacturing. The occasion is the advisory board meeting of the Global Trade Analysis Consortium. The consortium offers guidance and support for the Global Trade Analysis Project, which maintains the world's most complete database and computer modeling software for analyzing world trade issues. The project is coordinated by the Center for Global Trade Analysis, housed in Purdue's Department of Agricultural Economics. GTAP members pay a fee to participate in the consortium. The membership roster includes the World Trade Organization, World Bank, European Commission, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and groups representing the governments of the United States, Japan, Australia and several European countries. The representatives meet annually to decide how to update the database and computer model; set research priorities; and determine courses and conferences. "While consortium meetings don't get into trade policy discussions, the members themselves have vested interests in the issues," said Tom Hertel, a Purdue agricultural economist and director of the Center for Global Trade Analysis. "There's a group of consortium members very interested in agricultural trade policy, and they're gearing up for the next WTO round of talks," Hertel said. "There's another group focusing on energy and the environment, and they're looking at the Kyoto Protocol global climate treaty." A few members are involved in the debate over China's admission into the World Trade Organization, Hertel said. Congress is expected to take up U.S.-China trade relations later this year. CONTACTS: Hertel (765) 494-4199, hertel@agecon.purdue.edu; Steve Leer, Agricultural Communication Service, (765) 494-8415, sleer@aes.purdue.edu Writer: Steve Leer (765) 494-8415; sleer@aes.purdue.edu NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: GTAP board meetings are not open to the public, but journalists can arrange interviews with participating trade officials by contacting Steve Leer of the Agricultural Communication Service at (765) 494-8415. To the Purdue News and Photos Page