Agricultural Policy Reform: Politics and Process in the Eu and Us in the 1990s

An analysis of domestic policy reform in the US and the EU, agricultural trade policy reform in the GATT/WTO, the interplay between US and EU reforms and the linkage between domestic policy reform and trade policy reform. The analytical framework employed builds on one employed in the authors' previous research. This framework considers the importance for policy outcomes of such factors as past policies, economic trends and shocks, political developments and the policy environment, along with internal pressures. H. Wayne Moyer and Tim Josling explain why reforms in the US and EU took parallel courses and why reform changed paths during the 1990s. They address whether reform is likely to continue during the first decade of the 21st century in the context of a slowing economy, changes in the structure of agriculture, the trend toward multi-functionalism, increased concerns about food quality and safety, and the protest movement against globalization. The text presents: a comprehensive overview of the interplay between domestic and international agricultural policy reform; details of the paradigm shift in policy; a discussion of future prospects including the potential impact of new issues such as GMOs, intellectual property rights, animal and plant health, and human safety; and an empirical account of politics and diplomacy over a decade in a field that commands wide interest. It provides a background for explaining forthcoming agricultural policy debates in the US, the EU and agricultural policy negotiations in the WTO.