European Financial
Imbalances: Implications of the Eurozone Sovereign Debt Problem for
U.S. Agricultural Exports (May 2011). Severe financial problems
in some Eurozone countries will likely affect the EU's exchange
rate, investment, and GDP growth over the next several years which
will impact all trade, including food and agricultural trade. Three
likely hypothetical scenarios are assumed in order to capture the
effects of the financial imbalances on U.S. agricultural trade. The
analyses and results are reported with the implications remaining
positive for U.S. agricultural trade in all three scenarios in
large part because the diversion of investment from the EU to
emerging economies increases the demand for U.S. food and
agricultural imports.
The EU Sugar Policy
Regime and Implications of Reform (July 2008). The European
Union's sugar policy underwent its first major reform in 2005 in
response to mounting and unsustainable imbalances in supply and
demand. The reform targeted only a few policy instruments
(intervention price cut, voluntary production quota buyout, and
restrictions on nonquota sugar exports), while leaving other key
policies unchanged (interstate quota trading, sugar-substitute
competition, and import barriers). A model-based analysis suggests
that the initial reforms by themselves are unlikely to reduce
overproduction due to the oligopolistic nature of the EU sugar
market.
The Future of Biofuels: A Global Perspective
(November 2007). Global biofuel production tripled between 2000 and
2007, but still accounts for less than 3 percent of the
transportation fuel supply worldwide. Biofuels will likely be part
of a portfolio of solutions to high energy prices, including
conservation, more efficient energy use, and use of other
alternative fuels.
European
Union-25 Sugar Policy 
(January 2006). The EU approved a reform of its sugar policy in
November 2005, which is to be implemented in July 2006 and includes
a price reduction of 36.5 percent to be phased in by 2009. Analysis
shows a reduction of EU sugar production and a decline in EU sugar
exports of 3-4 million metric tons, with a resulting increase in
the world sugar price.
EU and U.S. Organic Markets Face Strong Demand
Under Different Policies (February 2006). Many European Union
(EU) countries have "green payments" available for transitioning
and continuing organic farmers. By contrast, the U.S. Government
has largely taken a free-market approach to the organic sector.
Despite the different approaches, both regions have large retail
markets for organic foods. For the full report, see Market-Led Growth vs. Government-Facilitated
Growth: Development of the U.S. and EU Organic Agricultural
Sectors (August 2005).
Agricultural Trade Preferences and the Developing
Countries (May 2005). Nonreciprocal trade preference programs
originated in the 1970s as an effort by high-income developed
countries to provide tariff concessions for low-income countries.
This study focuses on the United States and European Union and
finds that the programs offer significant benefits for some
countries, mostly the higher income developing countries.
European Union Adopts Significant Farm Reform
(September 2004). The EU continued to reform its Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2003-04 and will continue in 2005,
building on earlier reforms enacted since 1992. The latest reforms
move to fully decoupled payments through a single farm payment,
which has important implications for WTO negotiations and EU
farmers' decisions on what to produce. For the full report, see CAP Reform of 2003-04 (August
2004).
European Trading Arrangements in Fruits and
Vegetables (July 2004). The EU participates in regional and
preferential trading arrangements more than any other country or
region. Over 70 percent of EU fruit and vegetable imports are from
countries benefiting from preferential treatment for some portion
of trade. Exports from countries without preferences, including the
United States, are at a disadvantage in EU markets.
Global Trade
Patterns in Fruits and Vegetables (June 2004). International
trade in fruits and vegetables has expanded at a higher rate than
trade in other agricultural commodities, and the variety of
commodities has increased. Over the years, three regions-the EU,
the North American Free Trade Agreement area, and Asia-have
remained as both the major destinations and sources of supply. A
substantial share of their trade is intraregional, particularly
that of the EU.
EU Enlargement: Implications for the New Member
Countries, the United States, and World Trade (April 2004).
This is part one in a series of forthcoming reports on the
integration of the transition economies of Central and Eastern
Europe and the Newly Independent States into global commodity
markets. The report presents a medium-term forecast of the changes
that EU enlargement will bring to commodity production and trade in
Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic as well as to the enlarged
EU, and to U.S. and world trade.
U.S.-EU Food and Agriculture Comparisons
(April 2005). The European Union and United States are the world's
largest agricultural traders and among the largest producers and
consumers. This report provides information and analysis that
reflects the similarities and differences in their agricultural
sectors when comparing farm structure, production, consumption,
trade, productivity, farm policy, and responses to environmental
issues. Implications of EU enlargement for U.S. trade are also
addressed.
Commodity Policies of the U.S., EU, and Japan
(December 2002). Commodity policies of
the United States, the European Union, and Japan address some of
the same goals, but there have always been key differences in
approach and in their policy instruments. In recent years, efforts
to encourage freer trade in farm commodities have led each toward
less trade-distorting policies.
Trade Among Unequal Partners: Changing EU Trade
Arrangements with Developing Countries (September 2002). The EU, more than
other WTO members, has used exceptions to international trading
rules to provide nonreciprocal trading preferences to selected
developing countries. Some of these arrangements have been
challenged under WTO procedures and the EU has responded with
proposals to convert the arrangements into reciprocal trading
areas, which may be disadvantageous to the developing countries and
to U.S. trading interests.
Livestock Feeding and Feed Imports in the European
Union-A Decade of Change (July 2002). Events and policy changes
in the livestock sectors of the European Union during the 1990s
produced important impacts on trade in feedstuffs. Lower grain
prices and a declining euro together with several animal disease
epidemics resulted in significant increases in the feeding of
grains and oilseed meals and a reduction in the feeding of nongrain
feed ingredients.
Traceability for Food Marketing and Food Safety:
What's the Next Step?
(February 2002). Traceability systems, which document information
on specific product attributes from creation through marketing, are
used primarily to help keep foods with different attributes
separate. The EU's recent proposal on traceability for
distinguishing engineered crops and foods is an example of
government mandated traceability. Is a government mandated
system-rather than reliance on private firms' documentation-a
practical or efficient use of traceability?
Pressures for Change in Eastern Europe's Livestock
Sector (January-February 2002). The
meat and dairy processing sectors of several East European
countries are undergoing rapid concentration, accelerated by
pending accession to the EU and pressure to meet strict EU sanitary
standards. The trend is most evident in Poland and Hungary, but all
Eastern European countries aspire to eventual EU membership and are
experiencing noticeable restructuring.
EU Preferential Trading Agreements: Heightened
Competition for U.S.
(December 2001). Although the EU has pursued global multilateral
trade negotiations within the WTO, it also participates in more
nonglobal preferential trading agreements (PTAs) than any other WTO
member. These PTAs allow the EU to control imports and assist in
maintaining domestic EU prices. The PTAs disadvantage U.S. exports
to EU markets while providing advantages to EU exports in the
markets of EU preferred partners.
Crop Production Capacity in Europe (March 2001). From Spain to Ukraine,
agricultural production is pursued under a vast array of agronomic
and political conditions. In Western Europe, policies in recent
decades have maintained high farm prices and provided income
payments to farmers, often leading to surplus production. In the
decade ahead, Europe as a whole will continue to be a net exporter
of grain, although the magnitude will depend partly on the former
Soviet Union's ability to develop institutions and policies to
accommodate the new market conditions.
Other Links
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Foreign
Agriculture Service (FAS). Wide range of information and
data on U.S. agricultural trade, as well as agriculture and
agricultural policy of the European Union (EU) and other foreign
countries.
FAS, U.S. Mission to the European Union,
Brussels. Information on U.S.-EU agricultural policy and
bilateral trade issues, EU food import rules, animal product import
rules, fruit and vegetable standards, and import duties and
quotas.
Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS). Data
on U.S. exports and imports of agricultural, fish, forest, and
textile products from from 1989 to the present.
USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand
Estimates (WASDE). Each month, USDA forecasts supply and demand
for major farm commodities for the United States and for the
world.
U.S. Government
U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR). Agency responsible for developing and
implementing trade policies to promote world growth, support
environmental protection, and advance core labor standards.
U.S.
International Trade Commission (ITC). Agency that provides
objective trade expertise to both the legislative and executive
branches of government, determines impact of imports on U.S.
industries, and directs actions against certain unfair trade
practices.
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook. Information on the geography,
people, government, economy, and transnational issues of EU member
countries.
International Organizations
Europa. The
official site of the European Union.
European Commission, Agriculture and Rural
Development. The administrative and regulatory body of the
European Union responsible for agricultural policy, agricultural
markets, agricultural statistics, and international agricultural
trade relations.
Delegation of
the European Commission to the United States. News and
information on the EU of particular interest to the United
States.
Official Journal of the European Union.
Published every working day in all official languages of the EU,
the journal consists of two related series (L for legislation and C
for information and notices) and a supplement (S for public
procurement).
World Trade
Organization (WTO). Information on the rules of trade between
nations, and access to official WTO documents.
Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Statistics
Directorate. Data on economic indicators, labor force,
agriculture, national accounts, and international trade for its
members, including the EU.