Responding to non-linear internationalisation of public policy: the World Trade Organization and reform of the CAP 1992–2013

Abstract:

The transfer of regulatory authority to international organisations can initiate domestic policy reform. The internationalisation process can be a one-off transfer of authority to international institutions or an ongoing process.

In the latter situation, the level of internationalisation may be gradually increased by expanding the regulatory scope of the regime or by deepening it. However, internationalisation processes may also involve stalemate or even reversal. How do domestic policy makers respond to such non-linear internationalisation?

To answer this question, this paper analyzes the relationship between developments in the GATT and WTO farm trade negotiations and the reform trajectory of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from the early 1990s to 2013. Until 2008, the EU gradually changed the support instruments of the CAP to limit their trade distorting impact. After the Doha Round stalled in 2008, international trade policy concerns were downgraded and domestic concerns took priority in the 2013 reform.