International Trade in Agricultural Products

The major countries of continental Europe were never ideologically committed to free trade; agriculture received similar treatment to industry, and when the fall in agricultural prices began there was immediate resort to protection by tariffs or physical restrictions on trade. The position of importing countries has been anomalous in that while it has been possible for them to import freely the subsidized products of other countries, yet they have continued to give support to home agriculture. Britain has accepted some obligations towards its long-standing suppliers of agricultural products who in fact suffer more than the British farmer from the erratic and unpredictable dumping of commodities. International agreements covering all marketings of agricultural commodities have not been easy to negotiate or particularly successful. The paucity of international agreements for the regulation of trade in agricultural commodities follows from the difficulties of enforcing and financing such agreements.