Analysis of the impacts of the EU’s export refunds on developing countries since 2003

Philippidis, G., Revoredo, C. y Toma, L.. Analysis of the impacts of the EU’s export refunds on developing countries since 2003. Informe para el Departamento de Desarrollo Internacional (DFID), Gobierno de Reino Unido. Londres: Departamento de Desarrollo Internacional (DFID), , 2010.

The modification of export refunds was not part of the so-called Mid-term Review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The modification of the regime of export subsidies was proposed under the Doha Development Agenda discussion, which, in case of its being approved, would imply the elimination of export subsidies by 2013. Nevertheless, the 2003 CAP reform moderated some of the sources of domestic imbalances in commodity markets within the EU by reducing the intervention price and the size of the intervention stocks. These imbalances would be handled using exports subsidies. 3. The analysis carried is comprised three parts: first, a literature review, which was motivated by the divergence in the published results as regards the impact of export subsidies on the developing countries’ economies. Second, a quantitative analysis using a modified version of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) general equilibrium model. The need of a global model of trade flows to analyse export refunds is due to the fact that they have effect on the world prices, and therefore, their distortions spread around the world. Third, selected case studies, which have the purpose of going beyond the results from the GTAP model to fully understand the effects of export subsidies on selected domestic economies.