UNITED-STATES AGRICULTURAL POLICY - COMPONENTS, GOALS AND POSSIBILITIES FOR CHANGE

The Bush administration has a strong commitment to market-oriented agriculture. Therefore it is likely to stay the course with the 1985 Farm Bill and encourage extension of its market-oriented provisions into the next agricultural legislation. It will work aggressively to seek multilateral reductions in subsidies that stimulate excessive agricultural production in inefficient producing areas around the world, including the USA. At the same time the administration must reduce the federal budget deficit, and deficiency payments to US farmers can be expected to be reduced in the context of deficit reduction. Future US farm policy is likely to continue moving towards a more pronounced market orientation, but the USA will not unilaterally disarm in agricultural policy. The main two factors affecting future US agricultural policy will be progress made in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations and steps taken to reduce the federal budget deficit. © 1990.