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Events
Andrew Light Speaker Tour in Europe May 14, 2013 / Berlin, Germany; Brussels, BelgiumGMF Senior Fellow Andrew Light participated in a speaking tour in Europe to discuss opportunities for transatlantic cooperation on climate and energy policy in the second Obama administration.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Events
Trade & Development Speaker Series: Agricultural Trade Reform and the Doha Development Agenda February 23, 2005 / Washington, DC
GMF's Trade & Development program hosted World Bank economist Kym Anderson for a luncheon discussion on “Agricultural Trade Reform and the Doha Development Agenda,” on February 23. Dr. Anderson argued that in terms of global merchandise trade, opening agricultural markets is “by far the biggest potential contributor to global and developing-country welfare gains.”
Dr. Anderson’s research, conducted with fellow World Bank economist Will Martin, uses econometric models and updated data from the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) to forecast the likely development impact of ongoing talks at the World Trade Organization. Dr. Anderson underscored the potential for significant economic gains from further trade reform: he suggested that developing countries would realize proportionately greater benefits in relation to their national income even as wealthy countries enjoy two thirds of the total global gain. He pointed to agricultural policy reform, in particular the reduction of import tariffs and other market access restrictions, as most critical for boosting real incomes in poor countries.
Dr. Anderson warned that even small exceptions for certain agricultural commodities — the so-called “special products” and “sensitive products” under negotiation at the WTO — could undermine most expected income gains. Although trade-distorting and politically important, export and domestic subsidies for agricultural products are far less costly, he said.
Audience discussion brought out a number of Drs. Anderson and Martin’s more nuanced findings. Several participants expressed concern over the distribution of expected benefits and costs associated with trade reform, both across and within developing countries. Notably, much of the predicted gain from agricultural trade liberalization would go to large, middle-income exporters like Brazil. Sub-Saharan African countries and other very poor nations, on the other hand, might only reap marginal benefits, or possibly even lose out, under a less restrictive trade regime.
Click here for Drs. Anderson and Martin's presentation slides (PDF — 2.07MB).
A background paper on the topic of discussion is also available for download (PDF — 118KB).
