International trade agreements: Some prospects for Turkish agriculture

Turkey's year-old membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been accompanied by the formation of a Custom's Union (CU) with the European Union (EU). As with the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), the CU is an important step in trade liberalization although it does not cover agricultural products. On the other hand, the application of agricultural policies compatible with the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a precondition for Turkey's full membership with the European Union. Turkey's prospects to "satisfy her obligations under AoA" and "to facilitate eventual membership" are not independent of one another. Their link is the European Union's adjustment to the WTO's AoA. Turkey and the European Union will develop their foreign trade and agricultural policies in the same, more liberal direction because of the AoA.