On Agricultural Trade Adjustment Assistance Legal System

The Trade Act of 2002 of the U.S. established a new Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers (TAAF) program, which turns out to be the only TAA program that aimed at helping one industry. Analogously, South Korea established its own Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers and Fishermen before its first FTA came into effect. Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers focused on helping agricultural business sustained injury from import competition by providing technical assistance and cash payments, aiming at improving its adjustment and international competitive power.Chapter I of this dissertation analyze the theoretical basis, political background of the TAA, as well as the situation at the establishment of the TAAF.As one of the TAA programs, TAAF compensate the damage caused by the trade liberalization on an economic basis, and constitutes a quid-pro-quo for the authorization of TPA. TAAF is an assistance measure with trade remedy value, when taken together with Safeguard measures, industries helped here can recover better. The logic behind TAAF is that when issues arise in trade, the fundamental settlement stays in the industry itself. So the TAAF can also be recognized as a"trade-industrial policy".Chapterâ…¡of this dissertation compares the differences of TAAFs in the U.S. and South Korea. Korea's TAAF assists more than agricultural producers; however, the technical assistance provided by the U.S. TAAF is far smarter than the Korea TAAF. Although the Korea TAAF provides five different types of assistance, all of them fall in terms of subsidy and loan.Chapterâ…¢of this dissertation analyze the consistence between TAAF and WTO rules. Except that support to producers'organizations may constitute a actionable subsidy and stabilization of business assistance may fall in to yellow boxes, all the assistance provided are consistent with the WTO rules.Chapterâ…£of this dissertation analyze the necessity and possibility of establishing China's TAAF, and provide some suggestions for the establishment of China's TAAF. It turns out that it would be a significant part of China's framework of agricultural trade law.