Agriculture in the Great Free Trade Debate: A Survey of Perceptions, Positions, and Revealed Preferences

In this short monograph the authors report the results of their survey of the perceptions of farmers, the position of the federal government and opposition parties and the revealed policy preferences of agricultural economists on the treatment of agriculture under the Canada-US Trade Agreement (CUSTA). Their conclusions on these important matters are drawn from an analysis of selected farm press items, government publications, political statements, research monographs, conference proceedings, and journal articles. The period covered is mainly 1985 to mid-1988. Although it is claimed that 'the political market place paradigm is adopted as the framework of analysis' (p.ii) this turns out to involve no more than the identification of some of the factors that affect the demand for and supply of protection in agriculture. The policy-making process is not addressed. After a brief introduction, the demand for protection is examined in Chapter Two. Individual farmer's wishes are determined from letters to the editors of farm news-