WTO members set for showdown

The future of world trade lies in the hands of politicians from 148 countries. Since September they have been debating and number-crunching about agricultural subsidies and farm tariffs ahead of a showdown in Hong Kong in December. Three IP issues are part of the debate, but their resolution depends on the outcome on agriculture. Stéphanie Bodoni introduces a series of articles that explain the complexities behind finding a long-sought consensus on these three key areas