Farm policy and trade conflict

One of the most difficult and complex parts of the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations was the agricultural dossier. And within that the European Communities' Common Agricultural Policy and EC-U.S. relations posed many of the especially difficult issues. Alan Swinbank and Carolyn Tanner give a compact and clear description and interpretation of the negotiations and the issues.

This Thames Essay starts with a review of the history of agriculture in the GATT through the previous rounds of negotiation. It then provides a succinct overview of the present state of world agriculture before a summary of the history and present state of the Common Agricultural Policy. The next three chapters chart both the several stages by which the Uruguay Round moved to agreement and the simultaneous evolution of the CAP.

Then a thorough description of the agricultural elements in the last Uruguay Round agreement precedes a final chapter looking forward to the desirable features of future world agricultural trade agreements. This will be a valuable source of information for agricultural economists, international trade economists working in governments, international organizations, financial institutions, and universities.