THE IMPACT OF POLICY NETWORKS IN THE GATT URUGUAY ROUND: THE CASE OF THE US-EC AGRICULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS HEIDI KAREN ULLRICH LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL SATISFACTION OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON 2002 1 UMI Number: U174118 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U174118 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 r:^ POLITICAL & AN° 4 f Zou 9fe^7o) ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the membership, activities and policy impact of three distinct groups of policy networks operating within and between the agricultural policy environments of the US and EC as well as at the multilateral level during the preparation for and negotiations of the GATT Uruguay Round between 1980 and 1993. Briefly defined, these three groups are: 1) epistemic communities - networks of professionals who share both specialized knowledge and expertise in a specific issue area; 2) advocacy coalitions - policy actors from various levels of the policy process who share common policy beliefs and work together to turn these policy beliefs into government policy; and 3) elite transnational networks - incorporating political leaders, political appointees and senior government and international institutional officials, these elite level networks are formed through regular contact in either an official or unofficial capacity. The contention of this thesis is that various networks of actors within the distinct policy networks of epistemic communities, advocacy coalitions and elite transnational networks contributed significantly to bringing about the reform of agricultural policy that occurred within the EC and the US between 1980 and 1993 allowing for the establishment of consensus on the liberalization of agricultural trade policy at the multilateral level of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade during the Uruguay Round. The hypothesis of this thesis is that these three policy networks varied in their impact according to the specific stage of negotiations due to changing policy needs. I argue that in general: 1) epistemic communities exhibited the most impact during the agenda-setting stage owing in part to their expertise in agricultural trade issues, the existence of a common framework for discussion and their work in creating analytical tools that allowed agricultural liberalization to be politically and economically viable; 2) advocacy coalitions had the most significant role during the second, or policy-making stage, due to their ability to work within the policy environment and shape domestic policy development; and 3) elite transnational networks, due to their ability to provide the necessary political pressure, had the greatest impact in the third, or breakthrough stage. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ..................................................................................1 Abstract ..................................................................................2 Table of Contents..................................................................... 3-4 Dedication ..................................................................................5 Acknowledgements ................................................................. 6-7 Abbreviations ..................................................................... 8-10 Chapter 1 Introduction................................................ 11-39 Chapter 2 Definition, Analysis and Placement of Policy Network Groups within the Literature....................................................4--106 Chapter 3 EU Agricultural and Agricultural Trade Policies: Principles, Process, and Policy Actors........................................107-159 Chapter 4 US Agricultural and Agricultural Trade Policies: Principles, Process and Policy Actors........................................160-201 Chapter 5 The Impact of Policy Networks During the Agenda-Setting Stage (January 1980 - October 1987)................. 202-257 Chapter 6 The Impact of Policy Networks During the Policy-Making Stage (July 1987 - July 1991)..............................258-328 3 Chapter 7 The Impact of Policy Networks During the Breakthrough Stage (July 1991 - December 1993)...................329-390 Chapter 8 Conclusion............................................. ....391-405 Appendix A Selected List of Members of the Agricultural Policy Reform Epistemic Community During the Uruguay Round..........................................................406-408 Appendix B Selected List of Studies and Associations Advocating Agricultural Liberalization During the Uruguay Round...........................................................409-413 Appendix C Comparison of US and EC Agricultural Proposals During the Uruguay Round......................................414-415 Appendix D Research Notes.............................................. 416-419 Bibliography 420-451 4 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother, Vera Marta Ullrich (nee Schiitz) (1929-1997). My idol and my best friend. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the support and patience of many individuals. The guidance, knowledge and friendship of my joint supervisors, Dr. Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey and Professor Paul Taylor, have been a source of great inspiration. Their continuous encouragement of my intellectual growth and academic experience has had an overwhelming impact on my personal and professional development. They have my most sincere respect and heartfelt thanks. The LSE Departments of Government and International Relations deserve commendation for providing superb administrative support during the process of preparing this study as well as financial support in the form of travel grants for various conferences. The experience gained through research positions has added significantly to my thesis. For showing me that the formulation of both US and multilateral trade policy is based as much on personal dedication as on professional expertise, I owe a debt of gratitude to the staff of the US Mission to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, particularly former Ambassador Rita Hayes, Andrew Stoler, Bob Kasper and Gene Philhower. Through involving me in the process of preparing the 1999 WTO Ministerial Draft Text, representing the US in Trade Policy Reviews and carrying out research on agricultural markets, they provided insights into the intricacies of trade policy few academic accounts could hope to match. Serving as a research assistant to Member of the European Parliament Alan Donnelly on two separate occasions between 1993 and 1998 was instrumental in the development of this thesis. I am grateful to Alan for introducing me to the activities of the Group of Seven/Eight, expanding my 6 knowledge of the political and economic issues surrounding transatlantic relations and granting me the flexibility necessary to carry out my empirical research. I would also like to give a word of thanks to my colleagues at the University of Toronto’s G8 Research Group, specifically its director Professor John Kirton, for encouraging my interest in elite transnational networks and providing endless opportunities to broaden my horizons. Throughout my time at the LSE, friends and colleagues have provided not only useful advice but also much needed humor, perspective and emotional support. I am thankful for the special friendship of Anne Corbett, Jubin Goodarzi, Christina Lin, Elisa Roller, Nidhi Trehan and Michele Wollstonecroft. Without them, this thesis would consist merely of words rather than a coherent whole. The encouragement of my family to pursue my goals has been of paramount importance in the realization of this thesis. In particular, I have benefited enormously from my mother’s enthusiasm for knowledge, history and political debate. Her recognition that I was happiest surrounded by books gave me the courage and confidence necessary to conclude this thesis. Finally, I owe great thanks to my husband, Roger Oelke, for his unending supply of patience in my obsession with agricultural liberalization and policy networks as well as for showing me the world beyond academia. 7 ABBREVIATIONS AAA Agricultural Adjustment Act ACF Advocacy Coalition Framework ACTPN Advisory Committee for Trade Policy Negotiations AFB American Farm Bureau Federation AMS Aggregate Measure of Support APAC Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee (within the US) APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ATAC Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (within the US) ASCS Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CAP Common Agricultural Policy (within the EU) CCP Common Commercial Policy (within the EU) CEP Common External Tariff CG18 Consultative Group of Eighteen of the GATT COPA-COGECA Committee of Agricultural Organizations in the European Union COREPER Committee of Permanent Representatives C.P.s Contracting Parties