AGRICULTURAL PROTECTION: AN OBSERVATION AND WARNING

Agricultural protection, especially of the nontariff type, is on the increase despite some recent appearances to the contrary. The forces behind this trend are heavily economic and immediate, relating principally to domestic farm programs. But there are other forces: self-sufficiency policies, social and cultural factors, and national security matters, which are also used to support protection in the political arena and over the long run. It is imperative that the leading industrial countries, with the assistance of leading developing countries, negotiate trade arrangements and agricultural adjustment policies that take advantage of the proven principles of comparative advantage. The alternative might be a trade breakdown similar to that of the 1930s