Political economy of distortions to global agricultural markets. Farmers, agribusiness and governments in Australia and other food-exporting nations have put enormous efforts into seeking reductions in agricultural protectionism, particularly in the past two decades via the Cairns Group in GATT/WTO negotiations but also in bilateral and regional integration initiatives. Yet levels of protection have fallen little for agriculture relative to manufacturing in high-income countries, and in some new ....Political economy of distortions to global agricultural markets. Farmers, agribusiness and governments in Australia and other food-exporting nations have put enormous efforts into seeking reductions in agricultural protectionism, particularly in the past two decades via the Cairns Group in GATT/WTO negotiations but also in bilateral and regional integration initiatives. Yet levels of protection have fallen little for agriculture relative to manufacturing in high-income countries, and in some newly industrializing countries that indicator has been rising. Improving our understanding as to why that is the case will ensure Australia gets a better return from its investment in that area of commercial diplomacy.Read moreRead less