ABSTRACT
The Common Agricultural Policy provides high internal support prices for European grain producers and protects them from international competition through a combination of variable levies on imports and through export refunds, which allow EC grain to be sold at world prices on international markets while preserving the higher internal prices. Since the beginning of the Common Agricultural Policy in 1962, the European Community (EC) has shifted from being a major importer of wheat and coarse grains to being one of the world’s most important international grain exporters. The EC is also currently negotiating with the seven European Free Trade Agreement countries to free trade within the European Economic Area. Intervention prices are set in European currency units, a unit representing a weighted average of member nation currencies. Inland waterways have made barge transport an important means of moving grain, both within France and for export to neighboring European countries.
