What do the United States, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China have in common?

If you said “a U.S. Grains Council office,” go to the head of the class!

But this year featured another important common denominator. In 2012, all of these countries engaged in leadership contests – hotly contested national elections in the United State, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and South Korea, and a once-in-a-decade leadership transition in China.

The Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in Japan. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) regained control in Mexico. Taiwan and the United States reelected incumbents. South Korea is voting today. The leadership transition in China was managed through the Party Congress, with policy results that will only emerge over time.

In much of the world, trade policy is a high profile issue. Elections and leadership changes have consequences. One of the challenges for the Council’s international staff in 2013 — and for the Council’s Advisory Teams in Charleston — will be to assess and manage the impact of political change on key questions like the Trans Pacific Partnership, biotechnology policy, and approaches to food security. Be sure to attend the Council’s 10th International Marketing Conference and 53rd Annual Membership Meeting in Charleston, S.C., Feb. 11-13, 2013, to hear from the Council’s country directors about the impact of 2012’s busy political calendar on the prospects for trade in the years ahead!

Click here to learn more about the Council’s annual meeting in Charleston or to register.