摘要：An important debate is under way among the countries of the world about the relative merits ofpursuing regionalism through preferential trading arrangements versus more outward-orientedapproaches to expanding trade. This debate has significant implications not only for food securitybut also for other dimensions of economic welfare and poverty alleviation in developing countries.Under the aegis of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the new WorldTrade Organization (WTO), most countries have been moving toward general liberalization oftrade policies and practices in recent years. At the same time, regional trading blocs--mostprominently the "single market" of the European Union and the North American Free TradeAgreement among Canada, Mexico, and the United States--have also grown in importance. Theseblocs pose a possible challenge to the WTO's objective of global free trade.
