Since the establishment of the WTO, there have been significant changes in the legal and institutional landscape of many developing countries. Whatever the motivation for trade-related legal reform, our experience in the FAO Legal Office has been that besides the substantial costs involved, there are many challenges to successful and meaningful legal and institutional reforms. Legal drafters must therefore be well aware of the existing legal and administrative culture. They must also have a realistic appreciation of the resource constraints in the country, for inadequate resources certainly restrict the ability of implementing bodies to put new rules into practice. This study is about the nature and extent of these trade-related legal and institutional reforms with a particular focus on those of direct relevance to the agricultural sector. In addition to the sectoral focus on agriculture, the study places distinct emphasis on the challenges of developing countries in the implementation of trade-related international obligations in the agricultural sector. It derives from FAO's experience in advising countries on the implementation of agriculture-related WTO agreements, key elements of which are discussed and illustrated by three representative case studies.

International agricultural trade now exceeds one trillion dollars. It is one of the key factors in the world economy, and the United States, like many other countries, depends on it to keep food prices reasonable, our balance of payments healthy, and the dollar from collapsing on the international money exchanges. The Symposium on International Trade and Agriculture held at Tucson, Arizona, in April 1977, covered all major topics of trade and commerce policy as they relate to agriculture. The papers presented in this book reflect the major concerns of outstanding professional economists and a great variety of agricultural research organizations.

This book analyses one of the most controversial areas in the political economy of international trade, namely the issues surrounding the creation of newtrade rules. Various concerns are addressed, including the environment, labour standards, intellectual property rights, trade facilitation, competition policy, investment and government procurem

This volume provides a state of the art review of current thinking on the full range of trade policy issues, addressing the economic and political dimensions of international trade policy. The volume contains a systematic examination of: - specific trade policy instruments (such as tariffs, non-tariff barriers and trade rules) - sectoral concerns (in agriculture, manufacturing and services) - trade linkages (to issues such as the environment and labour standards) - systemic considerations (what role for the WTO?) The organising theme of the volume is that open markets for trade and investment yield large potential gains in human welfare as long as trade policy is conducted as an integral part of broader domestic economic management and regulatory reform, and as long as the particular challenges facing developing countries are effectively addressed. This 'case' is presented on the basis of rigorous analysis of first principles and of empirical experience among key trading nations. An integrated set of original and comprehensive perspectives from a diverse group of experts, linked by a common organisational thread. The contributing authors create an ideal mix of internationally recognised experts together with younger specialists making their mark in trade policy analysis; academics as well as trade policy practitioners; and representatives of both developed and developing countries.

This paper discusses reviews major issues and developments in the trade area and outlines the problems in the multilateral trading system that governments face as they seek to liberalize trade in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. The paper’s emphasis is on policy developments in the major trading nations as they relate to trade in both industrial and agricultural products. The survey also includes a review of trade policies in developing countries and refers to available quantitative evidence on protectionism wherever possible. The increased use of nontariff measures reflects, in part, the fact that most industrial countries have “bound” a considerable proportion of their tariffs, particularly on industrial products, at relatively low levels. Restrictions are particularly widespread in industries suffering from excess capacity (such as steel) and where comparative advantage has generally shifted to developing countries. The lack of major liberalization in agriculture in the US–Canada Free Trade Agreement has led some industrial countries to suggest that the US interest in multilateral negotiations is now primarily in agriculture and in some selected new areas, such as telecommunications, banking, and patent protection.

The aim of the book is to provide interested readers with access to a number of articles that have been written over the years on the subject of the linkages between domestic farm policies (particularly in developed countries) and world markets for agricultural goods. The scope of the book includes the measurement of protection and the estimation of transfers to agricultural producers, the effect of these policies on consumers and the consequent impact on international trade. A major theme is that the monitoring of the trade and transfer implications of farm policies is an essential first step to addressing the need for internationally agreed disciplines on their nature and extent. The topic of trade impacts of farm policies has become important in two different market situations. When agricultural commodity prices are depressed, attention turns to the activities of countries (particularly developed countries) that support the income of their own farmers but at the expense of farmers in other countries. When prices rise, as they have done in the last five years, the question is reversed: what is the impact of the farm and food policies that restrict exports to keep domestic prices low on food security in other countries? Thus, the narrative of the monitoring of farm policies by international organizations such as the OECD and the disciplining of such policies under the rules of the WTO is as relevant today as in the 1970s when the first efforts in this direction were made.

Many national legal frameworks still do not include laws and measures specifically intended to tackle climate change in the agriculture sectors. However, national laws and institutional frameworks are necessary for good governance and can operate to support the implementation of national policy and international commitments, including on climate change. Indeed, Target 16.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls for the promotion of the rule of law, and the assurance of equal access to justice for all. This is both an important stand-alone goal and an enabling goal for the realization of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development‎. Furthermore, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sees appropriately designed, informed and responsive national legal and institutional frameworks as key to supporting the implementation of countries’ commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement, as well as their Nationally Determined Contribution in the food, agriculture and natural resources sectors. Climate change presents multiple challenges and it cannot be addressed effectively in silos. Attention must be paid not only to specific agriculture sectors, but also to governance areas that are interconnected with agriculture, such as public spending and investment, social protection and rural development. Efforts should be coordinated with the engagement of civil society, including the legal profession, vulnerable groups and the private sector.This Study addresses the principal expressions of the food and agriculture sector (crops and livestock agriculture, forestry and fisheries), looking at the critical cross-cutting issues and their integration into agriculture law. It provides a comprehensive overview of the legal and institutional issues to consider when working towards preparing the agriculture sector for the challenges of climate change.

Costa Rica’s strong agricultural sector is underpinned by the country’s political stability, robust economic growth and high levels of human development. The sector has achieved significant export success, yet raising productivity and staying competitive in world markets will require efforts to ...