"Agricultural Trade Liberalization investigates key issues in the Western Hemisphere, including potential scenarios for liberalization at the regional and multilateral levels, the effects of U.S. and European Union agricultural policies on trade, and the outcomes that a Free Trade Area of the Americas and a European Union-Mercosur trade agreement might have on agricultural trade flows. The book also examines the impact of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and biotechnology on agricultural trade, integration of sugar and dairy markets in the Americas, and a comparison of agri-food industries in the United States and Brazil. Finally, the book provides and overview of agricultural liberalization in the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement and suggests a food security typology to be utilized by the World Trade Organization."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Extract: Import demand and export supply elasticities for grains, soybeans, and cotton for the Western Hemisphere countries studied suggest that neither imports nor exports will be very responsive in the medium run (2-3 years) to a reduction in U.S. commodity prices stemming from the Farm Security Act of 1985, because domestic and trade policies insulate domestic prices from changes in world prices. Import demand for feed grains and soybeans is generally more responsive to price declines than food grains. Factors other than price are often more important in influencing import decisions. But policies can change quickly, especially in many Latin American countries; a period of sustained lower U.S. prices may elicit policy changes in the long run that make import demand more responsive to lower prices.