ABSTRACT
Both economic and political variables affect trade. In economic terms, trade partners seek material gains associated with the exchange of goods. Politics may impede such transactions, depending on the tradeoffs or costs. If the economic gains are significant, bilateral conflicts or tensions tend to be overlooked. For example, Venezuela and Colombia continue to trade despite the existing tension between the two countries.1 Conversely, trade can be conflict inducing. The outcome of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha ministerial meeting produced more discord than cooperation. Perceptions that the terms favoured one party over the other fuelled this discord. The offending article was the European Union (EU) and United States refusal to give up farm subsidies and provide fairer terms of trade for developing country farmers.
