A Note on the FAO Guiding Principles for Price Support Measures

Several international agencies have in recent years sought to establish a generally accepted code of behaviour to be observed by countries in formulating their agricultural policies. The objectives and vision of problems stimulating these endeavours have varied. OEEC aimed primarily at coordination of the agricultural policies of participating countries in order to increase efficiency and incomes in agriculture for the region as a whole. GATT and FAO have been primarily concerned with the repercussions of domestic agricultural problems upon the levels and stability of international trade, with the consequences for the terms of trade of primary-exporting countries, especially of those in a less advanced stage of economic development, and with the need to prevent further accumulation of burdensome surpluses of agricultural products. This note reviews the outcome of these efforts, with particular attention to the guiding principles agreed upon at the last FAO Conference. A preliminary appraisal indicates that the principal weakness in the FAO guidelines is the lack of proposals for active review of national policies by an international body.