Agriculture trade policy measures and geopolitics in major regional trading blocs: Policy advocacy

Abstract

Trading blocs are usually groups of countries in specific regions that manage and endorse trade activities. The present status of agricultural support, tariff, and non-tariff measures of WTO members has critical issues for debate on trade policy. The study is a quantitative analysis and framework of geopolitical effects of WTO measures on the most significant regional trading blocs and global agriculture. The study found that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trading blocs were highly supporting the agricultural sector followed by South Asian Free Trade Area in terms of total support estimates, whereas reverse trends in terms of producer support estimates. North American Free Trade Agreement imposed the highest number of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, anti-dumping, countervailing, and special safeguards. However, ASEAN trading bloc imposed more number of safeguards and quantitative restrictions. European Free Trade Area and Common Market of the South, South American Regional Economic Organization trading blocs imposed higher tariff rate quotas and export subsidies, respectively. India gave more price advantage to domestic goods. The United States and the European Union imposed higher tariffs on both agriculture and non-agriculture sectors. Globally, most of the countries' Agricultural Orientation Index (AOI) has less than unity indicating not giving priority to agriculture in budget allocation except for South Korea and Switzerland. These findings will have significant impact on world trade negotiations, world trading rules, designing WTO agreements or policies or programs, multilateral agreements.