Evolución de la regulación del comercio internacional de productos agropecuarios

Zusammenfassung

The story of trade agriculture in the international organizations is remarkable. Agriculture is a sensitive topic in virtually every country. They seek to maximize economic advantages for its own agricultural sector for social, economic and political reasons. In my first idea I want to write the story of the agriculture matters from the point of view of international cooperation. According to several writers the story of repeated attempts to bring trade in agricultural products in to a rule-based international trading system is important in order to know our contemporary world. Accordingly I tried to explain the reasons of including agricultural matters in those economic institutions originated in the 1945 post war period. In this way I have followed a chronological sequence, beginning with the attempts to create GATT and continuing through several negotiating rounds in 1947-1995 period. It is important to say that the idea of founding as international organization to develop and coordinate international trade was put in 1944 at a conference an economic matters held in Bretton Woods. In this conference two outstanding institutions were created: International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Multilateral trade negotiations were conducted within the framework of the UN Economic and Social Council, which in 1946 adopted a resolutions in favor of farming an International Trade Organization (ITO). Due to different reasons I have studied this ITO never was created. In a preparation process a multilateral treaty was signed containing general principles of trade policy to which we refer as GATT. The failure to adopt the ITO as several writers have pointed out meant the absence of the “third pillar” on which the structure of Bretons Woods Systems was to be built. The GATT, which was not intended to be on international organization gradually filled this void. In my work, I have studied several rounds of multilateral trade negotiation following a chronological sequence in five chapters. In chapter I I have studied main features of 1950-1960 period. I present a document to which a great attention must be dedicated. In chapters II and III several rounds of negotiations have been included. These negotiations have been specially dedicated to reduce and bind tariff schedule of each Contracting Party- because GATT could have no members. In chapter II I have studied problems related to accession of six European countries creating the European Common Market. These rounds were held periodically. In a similar way in chapter IV preliminary views on Uruguay Round are studied. The objectives of these rounds were primarily to reduce tariffs. Non-tariff barriers later emerged and objectives of the rounds of 1970-1980 were to reduce these. The agricultural sector were neglected in comparison to manufacturing one. Only in the Uruguay Round beginning at 1986 agriculture was a major topic of negotiation. Finally an specific agreement was reached. The Agriculture Agreement initiates a process to reform trade in agriculture. This was intended to culminate in a market-oriented trading regime that is as free as possible from restrictions and distortions. In chapter V special attention is consecrated to the study of this agreement as well as several others having an incidence on agricultural matters. It is important to point out that the agreement includes three basic obligations (“pillars”) relative to market access, domestic support and export subsidies. An important issue of the Uruguay Round was to transform the GATT into a new international organization called World Trade Organitation. This exist to facilitate the implementation, administration and operation as well as to fulfill the objectives of the WTO agreements, including the one related to agriculture the WTO has four specific tasks: to provide a forum for negotiations among Members; to administer the Trade Policy Review Mechanism; and to cooperate with Bretton Woods institutions. The Agreement of agriculture marked a systemic shift in the international regulation of agricultural production and trade. According to the consequences of previous chapters put an end to an era of exceptionalism in which agriculture was excluded form key principles of GATT, particularly those on quantitative import restrictions and export subsidies. Notwithstanding does not subject agricultural products to the same rules as other products. In chapter VI I studied problems related to years following the signature of the Uruguay Round in which WTO and Agreement of Agriculture were included. This means ending chapters studying evolution of international framework for agricultural trade and present at same time “new” problems as are food security, new factors in agricultural production environmental matters, etc. Article 20 of Agreement called for new negotiations to be launched in 2000. These were duly starter and subsequently morphed in the Doha Round (2001-…). Pressure to continue establishing an international set of rules and elimination of trade-distorting farm policies was strong. The agenda for negotiations in agricultural trade liberalization was centring on the three pillars of agricultural interventions, improving provisions for special and differential treatment for developing countries and clarifying the scope to pursue noneconomic objectives (the EU has qualified agricultural support programs as “multifunctional”. My personal contribution to this study starts from a view I have tried to prove. After reading specific literature I thought that were the world great powers those establishing international rules in the sector. But, after studying rules, rounds and experiences of GATT and WTO my previous view has been amended in the sense that first proposal were too generalist. It is important to introduce in ours studies a lot of considerations taking into account political, social and more general economic problems.