Projecting the Effects of Agricultural Trade Liberalization on Trade ,

Integration into the world economy has accelerated economic growth in many developing countries, providing an essential impetus to poverty reduction (IMF 2001). Continuing growth and integration of world markets, however, has reduced the distinction between domestic and international policies and provoked criticism of the trade-restricting measures of developed countries. The highly protected agricultural sectors of the European Union, Japan, and the United States are often criticized by developing countries and by competitive producers such as Australia and Canada. Protectionism is expensive for the governments that provide it and damaging to the developing countries whose farmers do not enjoy the same level of government support and may therefore face unfair competition. Agricultural protection includes economic regulations (quotas, contingent protection measures, domestic content requirements), social regulations (food safety measures, environmental trade measures, quality standards), and administrative regulations (customs valuation, classification, and clearance procedures; licensing requirements). While social measures were initially intended to protect consumers against products that did not meet health, quality, safety, or