Trade Policy Commercial Market Relationships, and Effects on World Price Stability: The European Community

International Relations/Trade,

Banana policy: a European perspective

European Union banana policies do not make economic sense, and hence criticism of these policies is justified. Some facts should, though, be remembered. If the EU had chosen free trade in bananas when the Single Market was established, certain producers both inside and outside the EU would have lost income, and it proved politically impossible to choose direct financial compensation. Also, the quantitative implications of the new EU banana regime may be less than sometimes assumed, as trade has not been reduced very much. The WTO's role is not to judge the economic merits of these policies, but their legal justification.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

TARIFF RATE QUOTAS IN THE EU

The European Union has opened tariff rate quotas (TRQs) after the Uruguay Round (UR), following the agreement that minimum access should be provided and current access not be restricted. The EU TRQs are described and their origin is explained. Descriptive statistics are provided in order to assess the implementation of the market access provisions of the 1994 UR Agreement. Transparency of the EU TRQ system and fill rates of TRQs are examined. Overall, the EU's record in the area of TRQs is relatively satisfactory, compared with those of other countries. Concerns remain, however, as to the exact articulation of the (regional) Europe Agreement and some quotas under minimum access.International Relations/Trade,

Will agriculture always remain a problem in GATT?

GATT has had extraordinarily scant “success” in the agricultural sphere up to now. To what extent is this due to the special status accorded to agriculture in GATT? Are trends discernible within GATT that might lead to an improvement in the situation? Might the Uruguay Round produce fundamentally new solutions

Eastward enlargement of the EU: Will agricultural policy be an obstacle?

The political preparations for enlarging the European Union to include the Central European countries are in full swing, but economic policy preparations have not yet begun. There is a need for adjustment primarily in the Central European countries, but also in sensitive areas in the EU itself, particularly the Common Agricultural Policy. Will agricultural policy be an obstacle to eastward enlargement

The Development and Future of EU Agricultural Trade Preferences for North-African and Near-East Countries

The EU recently completed negotiating a series of Association Agreements with Mediterranean countries. Trade preferences for agricultural goods granted under these Agreements, as well as under former arrangements, are analyzed by calculating the value of preference margins at several stages in the evolution of preferences. The total value of preference margins for all countries covered was about 130 million under the agreements of the mid-1970s and increased by 48 per cent until 1995; by 2000 this value declined by about 14 per cent due to reduced EU MFN tariffs. The extended preferences under the new Agreements more than compensate for this decline and will result in a total value of preference margins of 226 million once all Agreements have entered into force.preferential trade, preference margin, Mediterranean countries, Euro-Mediterranean Agreements, preference erosion, International Relations/Trade,

European agricultural policy at the crossroads: Dirigistic pseudo-solutions or genuine reforms?

It is now widely acknowledged that the agricultural policy course followed by the EC in the past cannot continue unchanged. Intensive negotiations on modifications to the Common Agricultural Policy have taken place, but have not yet led to agreement among the member countries. Professor Tangermann analyses the ideas for reform that are currently under discussion and presents possible alternatives