Opening Up the Green Box: Agriculture in the Final Act of the Uruguay Round

Abstract

The conflict I call the Farm War is now greatly diminished in intensity, for reasons that may in part be related to the trade regime, but which are certainly related to factors affecting global supply and demand, including the weather. While it lasted, however, the trade regime managed to limit the Farm War, and the war kept agriculture at the centre of the Uruguay Round. The Agreement on Agriculture (hereafter, the Agreement) is the result. It did not end the war by itself, but it does reflect the way states understood the conflict. The Green Box is the symbol for the political basis of the Agreement, the new rules for agriculture that WTO members hope will prevent another war. By opening the Green Box through a detailed discussion of the text, we can see how the Agreement was agreed, and how states hope it will work.