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Food security, developing countries and multilateral trade rules

The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2015-16 Background Paper

Year of publication 2015

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 68 p.

Author Matthews, A.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) is frequently criticised for not taking sufficient account of the needs of developing countries to pursue policies necessary to promote their food security. This paper assesses the extent to which existing and proposed rules limit the policy space that developing countries might want. It also explores the way in which AoA rules - under the headings of import protection, domestic support and the ability to respond to volatile world market prices - enable tra de to make a positive contribution to food security, while also highlighting areas where the absence of rules, incomplete rules or inappropriate rules hinder the role that trade can make.

Language English

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