ìBrazilís Road to Victory Over U.S. Cotton,î by Elizabeth Becker and Todd Benson, New York Times, 4 May, p. W1.

I love this story.

Government bureaucrat in Brazil sues the U.S. over cotton subsidies in the WTO. Ruling finally comes down: U.S. is guilty of unfair trade practices that keep Brazilian cotton out of U.S. markets. This guy is also suing the EU in the WTO over sugar.

Hereís the best part: Brazil foots the $1m legal bill, but allows Gap states Benin and Chad, also badly hurt by such protectionism in the past, to join the suit for free. This suit therefore constituted the first time any state in Africa has been involved in any WTO litigation.

Thatís the New Core doing what it should do: act as goad to the Old Core to do what is necessary to shrink the Gap economically through lower trade barriers.

I take my hat off to Brazil.