Agriculture in the GATT

About this book

This book describes and analyzes the attempts that were made to make trade in agriculture less distorted, more stable and predictable, and less of a dangerous source of political friction between nations, in successive rounds of negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in the 45-year period from GATT's inception in 1947 to the end of the Uruguay Round in 1993. While the book analyzes the development of international trade policy throughout the postwar period, particular attention is given to the Kennedy, Tokyo and Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations in which the problems of trade in agricultural products were confronted. For each round, the positions of major participants in international arrangements that should govern trade in agriculture, the contending proposals, and the results of the negotiations are explained and analyzed. However, the specific issues and positions on agricultural trade are set in the broader context of changing international political relations, developments in the international and national economies, the conditions in international food markets, and the evolution of 'domestic' agricultural policies in the major countries and regional groupings.