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Abstract
Although the world market seems to be expanding, with an in-creasing participation of the Asian East, mainly of China, it is still subject
to much debate related to the use of genetic modified varieties, to commer-cial disputes within WTO due to agriculture protection, and to effects of
ALCA’s establishment, joining the three main exporters. In the short run,
emphasis was given to the last two American agricultural bills which raised
their subsidies to their soybean producers and the adoption by Brazil and
by Argentine, in 1999 and 2002, respectively, of floating exchange systems,
with drastic currency devaluation. The effects of the recent political changes
are analyzed using a general equilibrium model. The conclusions indicate
that currency devaluation in Brazil and Argentine more than compensated
the increase in the American subsidies to its soybean producers, Brazil
being mostly benefited; For Brazil, particularly, the world market expansion
appears promising, since its the only exporter with the possibility of largely
increasing its production and it has competitive costs.