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Farm Wars
The Political Economy of Agriculture and
the International Trade Regime
Robert Wolfe
School of Policy Studies
Queen's University
Kingston
Canada
tt
First published in Great Britain 1998 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills. Basingstoke. Hampshire RGll 6XS and London
Companies and represenlatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-39836-2 ISBN 978-0-230-39008-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230390089
First published in the United States of America 1998 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division.
175 Fifth Avenue. New York. N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-17700-3
Library of Congress Cataloging·in-Publication Data
Wolfe, Robert. 1950-
Farm wars: the political economy of agriculture and the
inlemational trade regime,' Robert Wolfe.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
I. Produce trade-Govemment policy-Congresses. 2. Agricullure
and state-Congresses. 3. Protectionism---Congresses. 4. Uruguay
Round (1987-1994) I. Title.
HD9000.6.wS37 1997
382'.41--<1c21 97-21672
CIP
© Robert Wolfe 1998
Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1998 978-0-333-66599-2
All rights reserved. No reproduction. copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written pemlission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced. copied or transmitted save with
wrillen permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright. Designs and
Patents Act 1988. or under the terms of any licence permining limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency. 90 Tottenham Court Road. London WI P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98
For my parents
I thought we were producing too much food in the EEC - hence the
surpluses.
The German nodded significantly. 'Too much food to eat, yes!'
I was baffled. 'What else is food for?' I asked him.
'We do not produce food for eating,' he replied. 'Food is a weapon!'
I asked if he meant that we fight the Russians with food.
He became impatient, and explained that we don't fight the Russians.
They are our friends, our customers. We fight the Americans! 'The CAP
gives us great influence over America, you see? Last war, guns. This
war, butter.'
'It's better, butter,' I remarked facetiously and laughed a little.
With apologies to the Rt Hon. James Hacker MP
(see Lynn and Jay, 1988, p. 35)
Contents
List of Charts viii
List of Figures ix
List of Illustrations x
Acknowledgements xi
Glossary xiv
Chronology xviii
1 Introduction 1
2 The GATT is Not a Free Trade Agreement: The Trade
Regime and the Double Movement 10
3 The Double Movement on the Farm: Structural Change and
the International Organization of Agriculture 44
4 Governing a Global Trading System: The Uruguay Round as
a Single Undertaking 82
5 Opening Up the Green Box: Agriculture in the Final Act of
the Uruguay Round 107
6 The Message in the Green Box 148
Appendix: The Agreement on Agriculture 165
Notes 200
Bibliography 203
Index 000
VII
List of Charts
3.1 Agricultural products as a percentage of world exports 65
3.2 Food exports as a share of total merchandise exports 66
3.3 Food imports as a share of total merchandise imports 66
3.4 Leading exporters of food 68
3.5 Real international food prices, 1900-1987 70
3.6 Real international food prices, 1965-1994 71
3.7 World prices and stocks: wheat 72
3.8 Domestic support for agriculture in OECD countries:
consumer and producer subsidy equivalents 73
3.9 Selected federal transfers to the prairie grain economy,
1970-1987 74
3.10 Employment in agriculture as a percentage of total civilian
employment 75
3.11 Gross value added in agriculture as a percentage of GDP 75
vm
List of Figures
2.1 The conceptual elements of regime theory 28
2.2 Interdependence, conflict, and institutions 38
5.1 PSE classification by type of measure 121
IX
