The final scope of these exceptions, a complex subject to say the least, will determine the nature of banking by too-big-to-fail institutions in the years to come.
By failing at the onset of the crisis to indicate that certain limited exceptions would be made, the United States forfeited to the United Nations the task of defining the scope of this loophole, and weakened the weight of a long-standing U.S. policy to oppose the use of food as a weapon in settling disputes.