Liberalizing Agricultural Trade Will It Ever Be a Reality农产品贸易自由化将成为现实.pdfVIP

Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 28(3):419434 Copyright 2003 Western Agricultural Economics Association Liberalizing Agricultural Trade: Will It Ever Be a Reality? Alex F.McCalla The World Trade Organization (WTO)Agreement onAgriculture was signed in June 1994.It accomplished two things: it brought agricultural trade under the rules of WTO, and it set schedules for reducing barriers to trade under the three pillars of liberalization-market access, export assistance, and domestic support. Nine years later there has been precious little liberalization. The new Doha Round has ambitious objectives for agricultural trade liberalization. However, given recent behavior by rich developedcountries, it seems unlikelythat developingcountrieswill get increased access to Northern markets or reduced competition from subsidized exports, despite their now representing a majority of WTO members. fiy words: agricultural trade, barriers, distortions, improved access, liberalization, policy, protection, WTO Introduction Nine years ago, the American Agricultural Economics Association Fellows Lecture had the title of Agricultural Trade Liberalization: The Ever-Elusive Grail (McCalla 1993). The lecture was presented prior to the ending of the Uruguay Round of General Agree- ment on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)negotiations (1986-1994). The round was already in its third year of delay beyond the 1990target date of completion. The delay was caused by an acrimonious standoff on agricultural trade between the United States and the European Union (EU). The Cairns Group1of agricultural exporters was an aggressive ally of the United States, pushing to bring agriculture under the rules of GATT and to start the proc