Transatlantic Food and Agricultural Trade Policy - 50 Years of Conflict and Convergence

Tim Josling and Stefan Tangermann's Transatlantic Food and Agricultural Trade Policy traces the past fifty years of transatlantic trade relations in the area of food and agricultural policy, from early skirmishes over farm policies to on-going conflicts over biotech foods and hormone use in animal rearing. The current Transatlantic Trade and Investment (TTIP) negotiations have brought these regulatory differences to the negotiating table, with attempts by the EU and the US to make food regulations more compatible with an open transatlantic marketplace. The authors take an analytical approach to the causes of transatlantic conflict and the extent to which these trade tensions in agricultural markets have reflected wide differences in policy approaches and levels of support. They explore in depth the pivotal role played by international rules, in the GATT and subsequently the WTO in disciplining farm price support policies so as to allow for more open markets. The book also points to possible ways to end five decades of transatlantic trade tensions in the area of food and farm products. Scholars, practitioners and policymakers will find this timely book an invaluable and comprehensive guide to the causes of, and solutions to the persistent EU - US trade conflicts in agricultural and food policy.