Currently there are proposals and negotiations regarding the strengthening of protection for geographic indicators (GIs) in the WTO. A major proponent of stronger protection for GIs has been the European Union. One of the arguments it has put forward for stronger protection has been that it will...

This paper examins the question of revisiting the imposition of existing trade barriers in one case of an evolving marketplace – when a traditional food product is altered to provide, or discovered to have, human health benefits that increases their value to consumers. In other words, the food...

As markets become globalized, food safety policy and international trade policy are increasingly intertwined. Globalization also means that food safety incidents are widely reported internationally. One result is that food safety incidents can negatively impact products where no food safety...

The shift of the farm subsidies toward programs classified as being decoupled income supports in the WTO’s URAA raises the question of their true impact on production and trade. In this study, we measured the acreage effects of the Canadian whole farm programs under uncertainty. Based on the...

It is now common for producers (economic protectionism), consumers and social advocates (humanitarian motives) to urge for the inclusion of labour standards in international trade agreements. In spite of this, there has been little empirical work to determine whether low labour standards lead to...

A special safeguard mechanism is an attractive policy tool for low income importing countries because it is automatic and does not require an injury test. Exporters might accept a safeguard for low income countries if it results in larger tariff cuts than in its absence. Using wheat as a case...

Current trade policy pursued by the Sri Lankan government on rice can best be described as ad-hoc as it is characterized by protecting farmers during glut seasons and consumers during deficit seasons. This study examines the economy-wide impacts of various policy packages on rice and related...

This study analyzed the impact of PVYn and potato wart disease outbreaks in PEI on the potato industry. These disease outbreaks resulted in the loss of the US seed export market to PEI producers. The effects of the disease outbreaks were mitigated through value-added processing. Price premiums...

This paper discusses the recent regional trade agreements that China has concluded rapidly following accession to the WTO in 2002. Agreements are in place with Hong Kong, Macao, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand, and are either in negotiation or under discussion with South Africa, Chile, India,...