Introduction

Along with textiles and a few other goods, agricultural products represent the last bastion of protected national markets in an era of globalism. The highest tariffs in agricultural markets are several times those for manufactured goods. Table 9.1 shows the unweighted average bound tariff on agricultural commodities for twenty major trading countries. The average agricultural tariff – however it is calculated – is probably about 40 percent. Most industrial tariffs are closer to 5 percent, and some manufactured goods are now traded duty-free.

Because most trade barriers have been tariffied, the new round of negotiations will be the first in which the level of agricultural protection is visible and quantified. The question is: what process would best remove these high trade barriers in a reasonable amount of time? Resistance to open markets for agricultural goods is still strong, but the discrepancy between agricultural and non-agricultural tariffs may persuade trade ministers to urge their colleagues to agree to significant cuts.

How do negotiators cut agricultural tariffs to 5–15 percent, or to zero if tariff-free trade becomes the norm? This goal looks to be a tall order: it implies a lengthy period of significant tariff cuts. But the new round of talks will not succeed unless negotiators take substantial steps to reduce these high tariffs perhaps to an average of 20–25 percent.

The problem extends beyond high tariffs: the distribution of tariff rates is uneven, among both commodities and countries.