keep trade channels open consistent with the multilateral rules

[GoodTaste]

Should the phrase "keep trade channels open consistent with the multilateral rules" be "keep trade channels open, consistent with the multilateral rules"? The comma seems to be necessary to me.

====================
Likewise, governments should engage with market participants to ensure the smooth functioning of agricultural input markets (seeds, fertilizer, labor, and credits), especially for time-critical inputs for planting and harvesting. Allowing movement of seasonal and migrant labor is also important in many contexts. The European Union, for example, has encouraged its member countries to consider all workers (including seasonal and migrant) in fruits and vegetable production as critical. Governments should avoid further use of disruptive policies, such as export restrictions on food, and keep trade channels open consistent with the multilateral rules and regulations as agreed through the World Trade Organization. In addition, they should ease trade transactions, including through electronic issuance of permits and certificates, and ensure that inspection requirements are compatible with social distancing.



Source: Science 31 Jul 2020
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6503/500

 

[GoesStation]

A comma is possible there. I don't find it necessary; apparently the copy editor didn't either.

 

[GoodTaste]

1) Keep the books neat, dry.
2) Keep the books neat dry.

Doesn't 2) look odd?

 

[GoesStation]

1) Keep the books neat, dry.
2) Keep the books neat dry.

Doesn't 2) look odd?

Since you used "doesn't", it sounds like you think so. I wouldn't call it "odd". Like sentence one, it's just wrong.

I think you meant to put this question in a new thread.

 

[GoodTaste]

If it is wrong, why the phrase "keep x open consistent with y" is correct?

 

[GoesStation]

If it is wrong, why the phrase "keep x open consistent with y" is correct?

Please re-write this question, putting the new version in a new post, using correct word order.

 

[tedmc]

Governments should avoid further use of disruptive policies, (1)such as export restrictions on food, and keep trade channels open (2) consistent with the multilateral rules and regulations as agreed through the World Trade Organization.

I think a comma is needed more in (2) than in (1). The pause in (2) serves to separate the modifier (a long one) from the object clearly. Of course the placement of commas is not absolute; it is a matter of what makes the sentence read better.

 

[emsr2d2]

1) Keep the books neat, dry.
2) Keep the books neat dry.

Doesn't 2) look odd?

If you posted this to show that a comma is sometimes necessary, I can see your point but you haven't used an effective example because the only correct way to write that sentence is "Keep the books neat and dry".

You need a longer list of adjectives to provide an example. This would have worked:

1) Keep the books neat, dry and tidy.
2) Keep the books neat dry and tidy.

You could have asked "Doesn't 2) look odd?" in that example. Of course, the answer would be "It doesn't just look odd. It's wrong".

 

[GoodTaste]

It seems to me that "Keep the books neat, dry" is the equivalent of "Keep the books neat and dry".

I don't understand why the former is wrong. The comma serves exactly as "and" to me.


As for the phrase "keep trade channels open consistent with the multilateral rules", I think it means "keep trade channels open and keep trade channels consistent with the multilateral rules". That is, it should either use "and" or a comma there.

 

[GoesStation]

It seems to me that "Keep the books neat, dry" is the equivalent of "Keep the books neat and dry".

It's not.

I don't understand why the former is wrong. The comma serves exactly as "and" to me.

As emsr2d2 demonstrated above, a comma can act like a conjunction in a longer list of items, but the conjunction is required before the final item.

As for the phrase "keep trade channels open consistent with the multilateral rules", I think it means "keep trade channels open and keep trade channels consistent with the multilateral rules". That is, it should either use "and" or a comma there.

You're reading it wrong. "Consistent with multilateral rules" modifies the entire phrase; it isn't a second item to be considered. You could rewrite the phrase as "keep trade channels open while complying with international rules."