New study reveals devastating impact of foreign subsidies on Australasian agriculture.
The paper looks at how subsidies and trade barriers in other countries affect agriculture in Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand. Previous studies found that import barriers caused most of the global cost, but now domestic subsidies play a bigger role. Using a model of the global economy, the paper shows that these policies hurt agricultural exports, farm income, and overall economic welfare in the three countries more than in other parts of the world. Domestic support in other countries is now a major factor in these losses.