GATT and the agricultural sector

The agricultural sector has to a large extent remained on the fringes of the process of trade liberalisation that has been going on for the last 25 years. The rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) cover agricultural trade, but countries have found it expedient both to ask for derogations to protect their own domestic agicultural interests and also to be less rigorous in the enforcement of such rules even when derogations have not been requested.