21st Century Agricultural Policies

The 2013 EU CAP and 2014 US Farm Bill

With the 2013 EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the US Agricultural Act of 2014, two major actors in world markets with longstanding high levels of farm support have set their assistance programs for agriculture for the first fifth of the 21st century. They have chosen divergent paths.

The EU provides substantial fixed annual income transfers while the US has eliminated these payments but has enhanced its risk protection for farmers. What are the main provisions of these polices and how well do they address today’s concerns about agriculture? How do they differ from policies the EU and US had in place at the end of the last century? What is the wider political economy of these new policy frameworks and what do they imply for the future of international trade negotiations? These and related issues will be addressed and discussed at this policy seminar.