The EU and Asia: World Trade Liberalisation and the Evolution of Agricultural Product Flows

In the trade policy debate, the complete liberalisation of world trade for agricultural products is one of the most relevant issues. European Union is a free trade area where agricultural products are protected and supported from the world market forces, more than any other good or service. The elimination of trade barriers among the EU member states has achieved European self-sufficiency in food and a strong integration in the European market. To resolve international disputes, Mc Sharry, Agenda 2000 and Mid Term Reforms of the CAP were introduced in the last decade, having in mind the reduction of domestic support, tariff barriers and export subsides. In this context, this paper studies the evolution of these trade flows among EU and some selected Asiatic countries. The aim is, on the one hand, to consider the impact of the progressive liberalisation of world agricultural trade in these areas, on the other hand, to measure the integration degree of these groups of countries. In order to be able to study these topics, this paper analyses the evolution of agricultural trade and of the role played by the different product groups. The paper is divided into three sections, followed by some concluding remarks. The first section studies the main agrarian policies adopted in the EU and some selected Asiatic countries. The second section presents the relationships among them. The third describes the agricultural import and export flows, considering the trade from a general perspective, from the point of view of the political decisions adopted and that of the agreements signed.