SUBSIDES AGRICOLES & BARRIERES COMMERCIALES

L'excellent magazine américain Reason présente 6 arguments en faveur de la suppression des subsides agricoles et des barrières commerciales:

1. Lower Food Prices for American Families
The foremost reason to curtail farm protectionism is to benefit American consumers. By shielding the domestic market from global competition, government farm programs raise the cost of food and with it the overall cost of living. (...)

2. Lower Costs and Increased Exports for American Companies
Producers who export goods to the rest of the world and manufacturers who use agricultural inputs would also stand to benefit significantly from farm reform. So would their employees. (...)

3. Budget Savings and Equity for U.S. Taxpayers
Agricultural reform also would reduce the cost of government. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that taxpayers shelled out an expected $26 billion in direct agricultural subsidies in fiscal year 2005—the biggest single-year subsidy bill since 1986. (...)

4. More Environmentally Friendly Land Use
The distortions and perverse incentives of U.S. agricultural policies have encouraged practices that damage the environment. Trade barriers and subsidies stimulate production on marginal land, leading to overuse of pesticides, fertilizers, and other effluents. (...)

5. Larger Markets for U.S. Farmers and Economic Diversity for Rural America
Federal farm programs actually work against the interests of many farmers. Growers, especially the two-thirds who don’t receive subsidies, pay a heavy price through lost export opportunities from high trade barriers abroad. Agriculture exporters face average foreign tariffs that are several times higher than the average tariffs on manufactured products. The most promising opportunity to lower those barriers is the Doha Round, which won’t achieve a breakthrough until the rich countries stop trying to prop up their farms. (...)

6. A More Hospitable World
The collective effect of American farm policies is to depress the income of agricultural producers worldwide, exacerbating poverty in areas, such as sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, where people are heavily dependent on agriculture. (...)