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FE381

International Agricultural Trade Disputes: Case Studies in North America1
Andrew Schmitz, Won Koo, and Charles Moss2 Border disputes between the United States, Canada, and Mexico over agricultural products as well as lumber are numerous and appear to be escalating. This was the subject of a recent conference of economists, lawyers, and private industry representatives that was held inGainesville, Florida, March 20 and 21, 2003. The event was sponsored by the Farm Foundation; Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. Chair, University of Florida; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; American Farm Bureau Federation; Center for Agricultural Business, Fresno State University, Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies, North Dakota State University; Center for North American Studies, Texas A&MUniversity; Centre for Studies in Agriculture Law and the Environment, University of Saskatchewan; Florida Farm Bureau; International Agricultural Trade and Policy Center, University of Florida; and the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan. Research presented during this conference, which is summarized in this paper, revealed that the number of trade disputes is likely to increase in thefuture—primarily from less developed countries, arguing that U.S. farm policy is a vehicle by which the United States is dumping export products abroad. There is also a wide discrepancy between trade law and economics; however, this discrepancy is narrowing. Trade law, for example, cannot deal adequately with perishable agricultural products where often U.S. farmers, like foreign competitors, sell belowthe cost of production. Here a normal business practice criterion should be used as a basis for determining whether dumping has occurred. In addition, there is considerable controversy over the appropriateness of the models used in assessing whether there is material injury in cases where dumping is occurring. (A compilation of the abstracts for the papers presented can be accessed at:http://www.fred.ifas.ufl.edu/conference/fre/ agtradedispute).

Economic Considerations
Dr. Cathy Jabara, with the International Trade Commission (ITC); John Skorburg, with the American Farm Bureau; and Professors Andrew Schmitz and James Seale, of the University of Florida, discussed trade remedy measures used by the United States, Canada, and Mexico in international

1. This is EDIS document FE381, apublication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published May 2003. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu. 2. Andrew Schmitz, Ben Hill Griffin Jr. Endowed Chair and Professor, Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Florida,Gainesville, FL; Won Koo, Professor, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND; and Charles Moss, Professor, Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

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International Agricultural Trade Disputes: Case Studies in North America

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trade. These measures provide a means for governments to protect domestic industries from competition due to allegedly unfair import surges. Dr. Jabara pointed out that these trade remedies are World Trade Organization (WTO)-legal...