On February 18, GMF's Trade & Development program launched a bimonthly speaker series to bring together the Washington, DC, trade, agriculture, and development communities to discuss transatlantic trade issues and their implications for the developing world. 

GMF hosted Jack Thurston, senior research analyst at the Foreign Policy Centre in London, and Kenneth Cook, president of the DC-based Environmental Working Group (EWG), for a discussion on the reduction and “decoupling” of U.S. and European agricultural subsidies that negatively impact small producers in developing countries.  The guest speakers addressed the nature and goals of reform proposals currently being considered, and the extent to which budget constraints on either side of the Atlantic may propel changes in existing farm programs. 

Cook and the Environmental Working Group have made a significant impact on American agriculture through their work around farm subsidies.  EWG’s well-known database revealing the distribution of farm payments has dramatically influenced the debate on agricultural policy and increased the pressure for reform. 

Thurston was special adviser at the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food from 1999 to 2001 and has also worked in the British Parliament.  With support from GMF, he is currently working to update his 2002 report, How to Reform the Common Agricultural Policy, to include the last round of EU agricultural reforms —known as the “Fischler Reforms” for former EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler.  Thurston also spearheaded the recent successful campaign in cooperation with British daily The Guardian to pressure the UK government to release farm-level data on CAP subsidies under the terms of the country’s new Freedom of Information law.