Regional trade agreements and agriculture

Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) are key instruments to governing international trade, and reflect a balance between political and economic objectives. The level of liberalisation in the agriculture sector can differ substantially across negotiated agreements, and even across products within the same agreement. This paper synthesises the results of the analyses found in previous OECD studies on the agricultural component of some 53 RTAs. It identifies those components that can be trade constraining and explores ways in which future RTAs can facilitate trade. It finds that market access could be improved under an RTA by removing limitations on tariff concessions, harmonising rules of origin, limiting the use of special safeguards to those allowed by the WTO-AoA, prohibiting export subsidies and other export restrictions except as permitted by Article XI of WTO_GATT, and implementing core SPS principles.