Interactions between trade policies and GM food regulations

Kym Anderson ()

No 2005-14, Centre for International Economic Studies Working Papers from University of Adelaide, Centre for International Economic Studies

Abstract: Agricultural biotechnologies, and especially transgenic crops, have the potential to offer higher incomes to biotech firms and farmers, and lower-priced and better quality food for consumers. However, the welfare effects of adoption of genetically modified (GM) food and feed crop varieties are being affected not only by some countriesÂ’ strict regulations governing GM food production and consumption, but also by their choice of food trade policy instruments. Specifically, notwithstanding the ending of the European UnionÂ’s GM moratorium in April 2004, the continuing use by the EU of strict labeling and liability laws and of variable trade taxes-cum-subsidies and tariff rate quotas is reducing the aggregate gains from new biotechnologies and the incentive for EU taxpayers and for life science companies to support GM food research. The use of variable levies and prohibitive out-of-quota MFN tariffs in particular is yet another reason to push for an ambitious outcome from the WTOÂ’s Doha round of agricultural trade negotiations.

Keywords: Agricultural biotechnology; trade policy; regulation of GM foods. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-08
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations Track citations by RSS feed

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/cies/papers/0514.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:adl:cieswp:2005-14

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Centre for International Economic Studies Working Papers from University of Adelaide, Centre for International Economic Studies
Contact information at EDIRC.
Series data maintained by Dmitriy Kvasov ().