Public Policy and the Reemergence of International Economic Influences on U.S. Agriculture

Recent literature on agricultural policy argues that a new market environment has emerged m the past 15 years characterized by the growing Importance of international trade, a U S agricultural sector increasingly integrated into the U S and world macroeconomy, and an increasing price variability for agricultural commodities A historical examination of the effects of trade, macroeconomic factors, and price variability on U S agriculture, however, shows that these influences are not new Changes In agricultural and macroeconomic policies In the seventies have caused these characteristics to reemerge, albeit In a somewhat different form and magnitude than in previous decades