La politique agricole et alimentaire américaine face au reste du monde

In a world where most cereals are grown for self-consumption, America's role both in their production and their export, and her consequent place in the world grain trade are of primary importance. Agricultural exports are also vital for the USA whose oil imports and declining non-agricultural exports contribute to chronic balance of payments deficits. In the coming years, both volume and prices of grain exports should increase, the latter reaching, around 1985-86, the record levels of 1973-74. The USA's clients, whether industrialised or developing countries, do not seem to be taking countermeasures which could offset their increasing dependency on American exports. International bodies have failed, up to now, in their attempts to build up stocks and to regulate market fluctuations. Considering in the importance of agricultural exports to the economic health and even survival of the nation, it is normal that the US make every effort to maintain and to increase them : among such efforts are the use of food aid, the expansionist policies of grain producers associations and the perfection of worldwide agricultural information-gathering systems. It is probable that the United States will improve its dominant position on world grain markets and may well use this position for political and economic ends.