Agricultural Trade reform & the Doha development agenda

Agricultural trade reform is critical to a favourable development outcome from the Doha Development agenda. But agricultural policies and the policy reforms being contemplated are fiendishly complicated, and the devil is in the details. This study builds up from the essential detail of the tariffs and other protection measures, and uses this information to provide an analysis of the big-picture implications of proposed reforms. The study highlights the risk that the potentially large gains will be lost through excessive flexibilities and exceptions.

SETTING THE SCENE. Agriculture, Trade Reform, and the Doha Agenda. What's at Stake: The Relative Importance of Import Barriers, Export Subsidies and Domestic Support. Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries. AGRICULTURAL MARKET ACCESS. Consequences of Alternative Formulas for Agricultural Tariff Cuts. Reducing Tariffs Versus Expanding Tariff Rate Quotas. Is Erosion of Tariff Preferences a Serious Concern? EXPORT SUBSIDIES AND DOMESTIC SUPPORT. Removing the Exception of Agricultural Export Subsidies. Rethinking Domestic Support Disciplines. Consequences of Reducing AMS Limits. Reducing Cotton Subsidies: The DDA Cotton Initiative. DOHA REFORM SCENARIOS. Holograms and Ghosts: New and Old Ideas in Agricultural Policies. Market and Welfare Implications of Doha Reform Scenarios.