Projects per year
Abstract
This article shows how China’s rise has radically altered the politics of one of the most prominent and controversial issues in the global trading system: agriculture subsidies. Agriculture subsidies depress global prices and undermine the competitiveness and livelihoods of poor farmers, and therefore have been long seen as a symbol of the injustice of the trading system. The issue has traditionally been understood in North-South terms, with developed countries seen as the perpetrators of harm and developing countries as innocent victims. In this article, however, I challenge this prevailing conception of the agricultural subsidies issue, arguing that it is now out of date and no longer corresponds with the emerging reality. A momentous but underappreciated change has taken place, largely beneath the radar of IPE scholarship: China has emerged as the world’s largest subsidizer, profoundly transforming the global politics of agricultural subsidies. From a North-South battle, WTO negotiations on agricultural subsidies are now primarily centered on a conflict between the US and China. While reducing subsidies remains a pressing concern for developing countries, efforts to negotiate new and strengthened disciplines at the WTO have been thwarted by an impasse between the two dominant powers.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 207-231 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Review of International Political Economy |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 16 Jan 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- China
- US
- agricultural subsidies
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- trade
- global economic governance
- trade negotiations
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- 1 Finished
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Global Power Shifts and the Changing Dynamics of Export Finance.
Hopewell, K.
1/10/16 → 31/07/19
Project: Research