Domestic sub-national support to agriculture. Evidence, significance, and reporting procedures in Australia, the EU and the United States

Abstract

The growing concern about sub-national domestic support to agriculture is caused by the increased international monitoring of agricultural policies (through the WTO and the OECD) combined with the resulting problems of broadening the scope of agricultural policies to include rural development concerns. In this study, the term «sub-national» is defined as including any level of governance below a country’s (or a group of countries’) top level of governance. Australia, the EU, and the United States are selected as case studies in an attempt to describe and compare the evidence, significance, and reporting procedures of sub-national domestic support. These countries are major actors in world agricultural markets, possess considerable political power to influence international negotiation outcomes, and are able to set standards in the way sub-national domestic support is reported. The study shows that sub-national domestic support is evident in all countries investigated, but its significance varies considerably. Measured as a percentage of total domestic support, sub-national domestic support accounted for 5% and 15% in the US and the EU, respectively, while it reached 50% in Australia. The main reasons for the differences can be found in the historical development of the countries’ governance structure in general and the evolution of the countries’ agricultural policies in particular. […]

Domestic sub-national support to agriculture. Evidence, significance, and reporting procedures in Australia, the EU and the United States