The purpose of the annual meetings 'Agriculture and Globalization' is to help the progresses of collective reflection on the future of agricultural policies and the emergence of propositions that can be accepted by all parts in Europe. These fourth meetings, held on the eve of the sixth ministerial conference of the WTO in Hong Kong (December 2006), were dedicated to the review of the market access conditions for agricultural and agribusiness products, which is a considerable challenge for developing countries - as important as the question of exportation subventions.

The liberalization of agricultural market has mainly been considered, until now, at the sole level of agricultural products. But the consequences of customs rates lowering can be felt on the entire agribusiness complex. For a good understanding of globalization effects, it is therefore necessary to replace agricultural and food industries at the center of debate. It is also essential to try to evaluate the real consequences on WTO members’ agriculture of an agreement on market access. Concerning developing countries, an erosion of commercial preferences could result of a widening market access from developed countries to agro-exporters emerging countries.

Eventually, the in-depth review of a WTO agreement shows that the introduction of distortion reduces in an important way well-being gains associated to an increased exchange liberalization.

This content is published in French : L'agriculture: enjeu du cycle du développement ? Quatrièmes rencontres agriculture et mondialisation