The aim of this research is to discuss a different way to represent the influence of Association Agreements on the agricultural trade between Southern Mediterranean Countries and the European Union in the period 1995-2004. A yearly analysis makes it possible to study trade changes after the...

This paper examines the methodological problems to define a modelling approach to assess the impact of full or limited bilateral liberalisation of agricultural trade flows in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The bilateral trade liberalisation process in the region is framed by complexity, in...

The paper explores an important issue in multilateral agricultural trade negotiations, namely the approach taken to reduce tariffs, simulating possible liberalization scenarios. The analysis is based on the model of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), and on the related version 6.0...

Over the time a large number of reciprocal preferential trade agreements (RTAs) have been concluded among countries. Recently many studies have used gravity equations in order to estimate the effect of RTAs on trade flows between partners. These studies report very different estimates since they...

The European Union decided in June 2003 a new reform of its farm policy with a new step toward the decoupling of farm income support instruments. Available impact studies find that this reform will reduce production incentives, substantially for beef and to a lesser extent for arable crops. All...

The EU Common Market Organization for bananas has been generating international controversies since its introduction in 1992. Many thought the 'banana war' had come to an end when, at the 2001 WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, a Decision was taken for the EU to introduce, no later than 1...

The main objective of the paper is related to the long standing issue of the econometric estimation of price elasticity of food trade functions. We investigate the relevance of the prominent gravity approach. This approach is based on the assumptions of symmetric, monotone, homothetic, CES...

Tariff rate quotas (TRQs) were introduced and legitimised as a market access instrument in the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA). TRQs combine both restrictions on imports, as well as safeguarding current or preferential agricultural trade flows. When market access is restricted by a...

Using specific estimation of ad-valorem equivalents, the paper compares sectors where observed trade flows are significantly lower than predicted flows, with sectors where a SPS/TBT measure is notified in the TRAINS database. Only three sectors are found where a significant negative coefficient...

This paper deals with the EU's trade policy with two objectives: on the one hand, we study the performance of EU's preferential agreements in granting their partners improved market access; on the other hand, we assess the extent to which domestic sectors are effectively protected. As far as the...