Negotiating the Future of Agricultural Policies:Agricultural Trade and the Millennium WTO Round

Book excerpt: With the conclusion of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture in 1994, agriculture has for the first time been integrated into world trade rules and disciplines. WTO Members have made a commitment to continue the reform process initiated during the Uruguay Round by starting new WTO negotiations on agriculture by 2000. This book combines academic analysis with practical expertise to discuss, in an accessible and systematic way, some of the principal aspects of these agricultural negotiations, and aims to make recommendations for viable and successful negotiating positions in the new WTO talks on agricultural trade. Several expert articles outline the historical and political background of previous negotiations and policy developments in agricultural trade. Others provide an overview of the key issues for the new round of negotiations, including: the Common Agricultural Policy reform in view of the Millennium Round objectives and future enlargement of the European Union; the prospects for negotiations in the areas of market access and export subsidies; and aspects of primary importance for the future of international agricultural trade such as food safety and quality standards, environmental and animal welfare considerations, and issues under dispute in the WTO. The positions of leading actors in the new round of negotiations, including major countries (Japan and the United States), groups of countries (the European Union, the Cairns Group and net food-importing countries) and European farmers are also presented.