The WTO and Agriculture (Critical Perspectives on the Global Trading System and the WTO series, 2)

In both regional and multilateral trade negotiations farm trade issues have been by far the most contentious and difficult to conclude. WTO rules for agricultural trade have yet to be brought into line with those for other goods. As a result, legal agricultural trade disputes at the WTO account for about 40 per cent of cases to date, even though agriculture accounts for only seven per cent of international trade and five per cent of global output. This authoritative and timely collection presents the most important published articles on this subject.The WTO and Agriculture discusses the following questions: Why have agricultural markets been noted for relatively high degrees of government intervention and in particular for rising levels of protection? How was agricultural trade treated in the GATT and WTO? Has the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture helped to resolve trade conflicts in world markets? What new opportunities and challenges are on the horizon?This collection will be an accessible reference source not only for economists but also for those readers with a law or political science background.