Export subsidies and minimum access guarantees in agricultural trade: a developing country perspective

The paper presents a framework for and results from a quantitative analysis of two proposals to GATT, made as part of an effort at containing or rolling back the spread of non-tariff barriers in agriculture. The first proposes export subsidies, which would be financed by the producers themselves, requiring no government outlay. The second calls for a minimum access for importers. This analysis examines the magnitude of the effects on trade flows, world prices, the impact on the production, consumption, and trade of the OECD countries and on foreign exchange earnings of less developed countries (LDCs), of minimum access as applied to sugar trade — one of the most protected products in OECD countries and one with great potential for LDC exporters. Results are then compared with an analysis of more comprehensive trade liberalization in the sugar market, i.e., complete removal of trade barriers in all OECD countries.