The WTO Agreement on Agriculture A Commentary

• The first legal commentary on the WTO Agriculture Agreement, analysing the obligations imposed by the agreement on WTO members and their development under the case-law of the WTO
• Provides a history of international trade regulation of agriculture before the WTO, and the emergence of a need for a comprehensive agriculture agreement
• Analyses the WTO's accommodation of developing countries, and the drive to settle a fairer agreement on farm subsidies currently dominating discussions about the WTO's future

The WTO Agreement on Agriculture subjected agriculture to a set of international rules for the first time in the history of international trade. Ever since its negotiation the Agreement has been at the forefront of the controversy surrounding the purpose and impact of the WTO itself. This commentary provides a full legal analysis of the obligations imposed by the agreement on WTO members, and of the complex history of the Agreement's negotiation and revision and the controversy surrounding its effect on international development.

The commentary is structured around the three areas of reform initiated by the Agreement - market access, domestic support and export competition. The book provides an in-depth examination of the substantive provisions and the disputes that have arisen in each of these three areas. In addition the book situates these provisions against their background in pre-WTO regulation. It analyses the operation of the 'Peace clause' and assesses the impact of the clause's expiration. The commentary concludes by assessing the Agreement's accommodation of and impact on developing economies, and examining the process of reforming domestic farm subsidies, one of the dominant issues currently confronting the WTO.

Readership: Scholars and advanced students in international trade law and agricultural law. Legal practitioners in international trade law. Academics in development studies and development economics