Since the establishment of the WTO, there have been significant changes in the legal and institutional landscape of many developing countries. Whatever the motivation for trade-related legal reform, our experience in the FAO Legal Office has been that besides the substantial costs involved, there are many challenges to successful and meaningful legal and institutional reforms. Legal drafters must therefore be well aware of the existing legal and administrative culture. They must also have a realistic appreciation of the resource constraints in the country, for inadequate resources certainly restrict the ability of implementing bodies to put new rules into practice. This study is about the nature and extent of these trade-related legal and institutional reforms with a particular focus on those of direct relevance to the agricultural sector. In addition to the sectoral focus on agriculture, the study places distinct emphasis on the challenges of developing countries in the implementation of trade-related international obligations in the agricultural sector. It derives from FAO's experience in advising countries on the implementation of agriculture-related WTO agreements, key elements of which are discussed and illustrated by three representative case studies.

This book explores the broad issues and essential topics involved in international agricultural trade: agricultural policy, foreign direct investment, technical barriers, macroeconomics, the environment, preferential trade agreements. It presents this fundamental material as part of a complete treatment that offers students an understanding of how the current trade regime works, and which parties benefit and lose as the regime changes. Chapter topics include gains from trade, policies of importing and exporting companies, multilateral trade negotiations, European agriculture, and international marketing. For individuals with a background in intermediate microeconomics, ready for an extensive graphical analysis of trade issues.

Pp. 20.

In Agricultural Price Stabilisation and Trade Rules Irene Musselli offers a fresh look at the tool box of managed trade in agricultural commodities and develops new and refined solutions that take into account the legal role of equity and of graduation.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture has had a fundamental impact on agricultural policy worldwide. The new WTO agreements will cover agriculture,sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and trade in intellectual property rights. This book addresses the interface between the law of international agricultural trade, the emerging legal and economic order for agricultural trade under the auspices of the WTO, and its impact on agricultural policy reform both in the European Union and the USA. With contributions from leading authorities in the appropriate areas.