General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade: Agriculture Department's Projected Benefits Are Subject to Some Uncertainty

United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-07-22 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GGD/RCED-94-272 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-RCED-94-272 P0b002ee18037b696 f:gr94272 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GGD-RCED-94-272 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-RCED-94-272 GGD/RCED-94-272 International trade Foreign governments International economic relations Agricultural industry International agreements Foreign trade policies Economic analysis Economic growth Tariffs International trade regulation Australia European Union United Kingdom North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA Letter Report GGD RCED General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade: Agriculture Department's Projected Benefits Are Subject to Some Uncertainty Congress is considering legislation to implement the Final Act of the Uruguay Round negotiations. One important issue is the likely impact of the Final Act on U.S. agriculture. In March 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a report projecting that the Final Act would boost world agricultural trade and benefit U.S. agricultural exports, employment, and farm income. GAO concludes that USDA used a reasonable analytical framework in estimating the Final Act's effect on U.S. agriculture. However, the assumptions it used in forecasting future benefits--specifically the growth in world income, how countries would change their agricultural policies to implement the Final Act, and the response of producers to changing agricultural policies--are subject to substantial uncertainty. Because events could unfold differently than the assumptions in USDA's analysis, the anticipated benefits to U.S. agriculture should be interpreted with caution. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-RCED-94-272/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-RCED-94-272.htm GAO/GGD/RCED-94-272 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-RCED-94-272 Letter Report GAO/GGD/RCED-94-272; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade: Agriculture Department's Projected Benefits Are Subject to Some Uncertainty; International trade Foreign governments International economic relations Agricultural industry International agreements Foreign trade policies Economic analysis Economic growth Tariffs International trade regulation Australia European Union United Kingdom North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA