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This article describes the evolution of the regulation of agricultural trade and analyses key aspects of the negotiations of the Uruguay and Doha Rounds, in which the least developed countries managed to make the final outcome of the negotiations conditional on progress in the liberalisation of agricultural trade. Four Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay) participated in the lobbying groups set up in both Rounds with the aim of defending their interests against the agricultural and protectionist policies of developed countries. Using specialised databases on international trade, this paper describes the consequences of these negotiations for the foreign agricultural trade of the countries that actively participated in them, with particular reference to the evolution of European and Latin American trade balances. The results of the research show how Latin American countries have become one of the world's main exporters of oilseeds and sugar, accounting for a third and a quarter of world exports, respectively. In contrast to the deterioration of the European trade balance, during the period analysed the aggregate trade surplus of Latin American countries increased from USD 4458.75 to 49,656.52 million. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been conditioned by a number of factors. Among them is the so-called external aspect of the CAP on which this work focuses, being the main objective to analyze the relationship between the evolution of the CAP and the negotiations leading to the liberalization of international agricultural trade, which were held within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the same way, we also consider the consequences for European agricultural foreign trade derived from the commitments assumed by the European Union (EU) in those two negotiating forums. To achieve these objectives, this research proposes two working lines: first, a literature review for better understanding how international agricultural trade has been regulated since the end of the Second World War to the present, and second, a research effort to know the possible implications that said regulation have had for the evolution of European agricultural foreign trade. In this latter case, the issue is addressed through an empirical analysis using two of the main specialized statistical databases in international trade: EUROSTAT and COMTRADE. The results of the research show that, as the changes introduced by the CAP reforms have been consolidated (based on the trade commitments assumed by the EU), there has been a gradual decrease in the share of European exports in the international markets for continental products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]