ABSTRACT
Agricultural protectionism is not new. In Europe it reaches back to the nineteenth century. It has grown steadily—as a by-product of economic development—although there have been exceptions, as in Britain after the repeal of the Corn Laws, and in small- to medium-sized agricultural exporting countries that could not afford to subsidize their farmers. In essence, agricultural protectionism can be seen as an effort to resist and delay the adjustments required of the agricultural sector to remain competitive with other countries and with other sectors in a rapidly changing economic environment.
