Certainly, the combined $70 billion or so in yearly farm subsidies from the U.S. and the EU choke off export markets and growth opportunities for mostly rural countries with little to send abroad other than cotton or coffee. But too much gets said about rich-country protectionism: trade barriers between poor countries themselves are more formidable and a greater deterrent to growth than that from the rich countries. (On average, tariffs are 13% in poor countries, 3% in the rich). "Just as charity begins at home, so exports begin with a good domestic policy," trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati wrote in the Economist recently. The EU, an example of a successful common market, has just started to help African countries set up their own customs unions. A good start, but more is needed.
