Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Foreword by E. THOMAS SULLIVAN
- Introduction: An overview of the volume
- Part I The constitutional developments of international trade law
- Part II The scope of international trade law: Adding new subjects and restructuring old ones
- Part III Legal relations between developed and developing countries
- 10 The Uruguay Round North–South Grand Bargain: Implications for future negotiations
- Comment: The Uruguay Round North–South bargain: Will the WTO get over it?
- 11 The TRIPS-legality of measures taken to address public health crises: Responding to USTR–State–industry positions that undermine the WTO
- Comment: The TRIPS Agreement
- 12 “If only we were elephants”: The political economy of the WTO's treatment of trade and environment matters
- Comment: The dynamics of protest
- 13 The Seattle impasse and its implications for the World Trade Organization
- Comment: Trade negotiations and high politics: Drawing the right lessons from Seattle
- 14 Developing country interests in WTO agricultural policy
- Comment: WTO and policy reform in developing countries
- Part IV The operation of the WTO dispute settlement procedure
- Bibliography of works by ROBERT E. HUDEC
- Index
- References
14 - Developing country interests in WTO agricultural policy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Foreword by E. THOMAS SULLIVAN
- Introduction: An overview of the volume
- Part I The constitutional developments of international trade law
- Part II The scope of international trade law: Adding new subjects and restructuring old ones
- Part III Legal relations between developed and developing countries
- 10 The Uruguay Round North–South Grand Bargain: Implications for future negotiations
- Comment: The Uruguay Round North–South bargain: Will the WTO get over it?
- 11 The TRIPS-legality of measures taken to address public health crises: Responding to USTR–State–industry positions that undermine the WTO
- Comment: The TRIPS Agreement
- 12 “If only we were elephants”: The political economy of the WTO's treatment of trade and environment matters
- Comment: The dynamics of protest
- 13 The Seattle impasse and its implications for the World Trade Organization
- Comment: Trade negotiations and high politics: Drawing the right lessons from Seattle
- 14 Developing country interests in WTO agricultural policy
- Comment: WTO and policy reform in developing countries
- Part IV The operation of the WTO dispute settlement procedure
- Bibliography of works by ROBERT E. HUDEC
- Index
- References
Summary
This essay discusses the interests of developing countries in World Trade Organization (WTO) agricultural policies. Kym Anderson (1999) recently noted that “The potential gains from further liberalizing agricultural markets are huge, both absolutely and relative to gains from liberalizing textiles or other manufacturing, according to recent GTAP modeling results.” That should not surprise us, since, as will be noted below, much of the world's agricultural output is produced in the wrong places. Anderson goes on to note that “The prospective new millennium round offers the best opportunity yet for developing countries to be pro-active in seeking faster reform of farm (and textile) trade by OECD countries. In return, the developing countries will need to offer to open their own economies more. Fortuitously, that too is in the economic interests of rural people in poor countries.”
My essay is divided into four parts. First, I will provide the background on events that have led to our present situation. I will of necessity paint with a broad brush in doing this, but the background is important to indicate why we are where we are, and to understand some of the issues that will have to be overcome to move forward. Second, I will discuss a couple of conundrums in international trade negotiations that continue to be a puzzle. Third, I will discuss some of the specific issues on the current international trade agenda that need to be addressed if we are to make more efficient use of the world's agricultural resources and to address the serious problems of poverty in the developing countries.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Political Economy of International Trade LawEssays in Honor of Robert E. Hudec, pp. 435 - 449Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2002