Official hyperbole reached fever pitch last month with Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, in a 24 October op-ed for the Financial Times, saying that a deal in Hong Kong would mean "the difference between a healthy life or an early death from a preventable disease" for tens of millions. The World Bank predicted two years ago that a global trade accord would be worth as much as $500 billion to the economy. However, EU and US resistance to cuts in agriculture subsidies, has led Uri Dadush, the Bank's trade director, to tone down official exuberance: "Let's say all we're talking about in the current context is a gain of $20-$30 billion for developing countries."