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International Markets


 
General Country and Agricultural Information

 Exchange Rates

  • Economic Research Service Agricultural Exchange Rate dataset contains annual and monthly data for exchange rates important to U.S. agriculture. It includes both nominal and real exchange rate for 80 countries (plus the EU) as well as real trade-weighted exchange rate indexes for many commodities and aggregations. All series are updated monthly. Data series start at the beginning of 1970 and run to the last available current monthly information, which is typically two months behind the current date.
  • Federal Reserve Bank of New York - Daily exchange rates featuring noon buying rates in New York, certified by the New York Federal Reserve Bank for customs purposes.
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) - The IMF is an international organization of 184 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability and orderly exchange arrangements.
  • Policy Analysis Computing and Information Facility in Commerce (PACIFIC) - This service provides access to current and historic daily exchange rates through an online database retrieval and plotting system. Also provided is a list of all the currencies of the world with information on each country's exchange rate regime and ISO-4217 currency code. Analyses and trend projections of the Canadian Dollar, the U.S. Dollar and the Euro are available as well.

Trade Barriers

  • United States Trade Representative, National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, 2004 - National trade estimate report on foreign trade barriers by country.

Regulatory Considerations

  • Codex Alimentarius - The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program. The main purposes of this program are protecting the health of consumers, ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations. Within the United States, Codex activities are coordinated by officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
  • The U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA, 2002.
  • International Approaches to the Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods, Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, 2003 - The United States accounts for two-thirds of bioengineered crops produced globally. The purpose of this article is to discuss international approaches to genetically modified (GM) labeling and to shed some light on why the approaches vary so much across nations.
  • USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) - Protecting America's animal and plant resources by safeguarding resources from exotic invasive pests and diseases, and resolving and managing trade issues related to animal or plant health

U.S. Trade Representative Issues

World Trade Organization

  • The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA) marked a turning point in the history of the multilateral trading system by subjecting agricultural trade to essentially the same rules that discipline trade in industrial goods. For the first time, WTO members committed to reducing agricultural tariffs, export subsidies, and domestic support. With the signing of the Doha Ministerial Declaration in November 2001, negotiations to continue reforms begun by the URAA are now underway.
    On July 25, 2002, the U.S. Government unveiled its comprehensive proposal for global agricultural trade reform. In addition to calling for elimination of export subsidies and reduction of global tariffs and trade-distorting domestic support over a five-year period, the proposal envisions a commitment to eventually eliminate all tariffs and trade-distorting domestic support. Among the other key issues covered in the proposal are disciplines on state trading enterprises and use of export taxes, export credits and food aid. Other topics to be addressed within the WTO that will affect agricultural trade include the technical barriers some countries impose on food and fiber imports, the concerns of developing countries, and the accession of new and prospective WTO members, particularly China and Russia.
  • Cairns Group - Explains the WTO perspective of the members of the Cairns Group.
  • USDA, Agricultural Market Access Database (AMAD) - A collection of data and information for WTO members. It primarily consists of tariff schedules, tariff bindings, country notifications, import quantities, applied tariff rates and other data useful in tariff analysis. The database currently contains data for 50 countries, including documentation and examples. AMAD results from a co-operative effort by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, EU Commission–Agriculture Directorate-General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and USDA–Economic Research Service. USDA World Trade Organization Briefing Room, Economic Research Service. European Commission’s WTO Home Page - The EU trade philosophy outlined with a note from EU Commissioner F. Fischler.
  • USTR Home Page on WTO - Explains USTR policy on WTO trade agreements.
  • WTO’s Home Page - Updated news for the WTO, as well as a database search for WTO agreement.

 Links checked February 2008.
 
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