ABSTRACT
What will be the impact of economic growth in Pacific Rim countries and elsewhere on the agricultural trade of those economies? This is of course a question of great importance to agricultural exporters in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States. But it is also of great interest to people in densely populated, newly industrializing nations who fear their agricultural sector and food security will decline as farmers become less competitive in the wake of industrialization. An all-too-common response to that fear is a call for protection from food import competition. When the call is heeded the protection inevitably is deemed insufficient, and so the escalation of agricultural protection begins. This in turn raises domestic food prices and reduces trade growth, thereby frustrating both domestic consumers and non-food exporters, not to mention overseas producers of farm products.
