This chapter first describes the Harbinson draft proposals on market access, export competition, and domestic support. It then presents a preliminary evaluation of the economic consequences of the Harbinson draft proposals, as an input for the current World Trade Organization agricultural...

For the forthcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations to consider in detail food security concerns, one issue that needs to be addressed is the relevance of the current classification of countries with respect to their food security status. This chapter presents a classification of...

This chapter compares increases in protection for some special products (the preferred instrument for those supporting the notion of a Development Box (DB) or a Food Security Box (FSB)), with investments in agricultural technology (a policy already allowed under the Green Box). The increase in...

This chapter explores possible implications for developing countries of the notion of multifunctionality in agriculture. The main objective is to clarify current policy issues for the agricultural sector in developing countries, highlighting possible consequences for the negotiating position of...

Following a detailed description of the 'Everything But Arms' (EBA) initiative in the EU's preferential trading framework, this chapter presents an economic assessment of the likely impact of EBA on the least developed countries (LDCs). It finds that EBA affects only a limited number of products,...

In the light of the ups and downs in the multilateral trade talks that are explicitly aimed at being a Development Round, it is worth considering whether the subsequent renewed emphasis on bilateral and regional trade agreements is to the benefit or detriment of developing countries. This chapter...

This chapter presents an overview of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and shows how the policy has evolved over the past decade in response to external and internal pressures for reform. First, the objectives of the CAP are outlined, indicating changes in objectives over time. Second, the...

This chapter first presents a brief summary of the agricultural aspects of the eastern enlargement of the EU and the mid-term review (MTR) of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It then provides a quantitative assessment of how the eastern enlargement and the MTR reform will affect agriculture in ...

The misalignment of US farm policy and the early US reform proposal in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha negotiations resulted in subsequent weakening of the US reform proposal. In August 2003, the USA joined the EU in putting forward a proposal deemed by key developing countries as offering...

This chapter analyses the impact of OECD policies, particularly US farm programmes, on the developing countries. It separately considers: (i) the impact of OECD domestic support programmes on world markets through their impact on OECD agricultural exports; and (ii) OECD protection of agricultural...