2025 Summer Symposium: Agricultural Productivity and Competitiveness in an Era of Policy Uncertainty

Registration has closed: The in-person registration fee is $150.00. A partial refund of $100.00 will be made if a cancellation notice is received before June 1, 2025. No refunds will be given after June 1, 2025. Notify Jennifer Shelton at jennifershelton@vt.edu if you need to cancel your registration.

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Programme: Subject to change 

Download final program {PDF format}

 

Image of people in a conference room
Day one of the symposium
Wednesday – 18 June 2025
Time/Room JRC – Expo Building

Calle Inca Garcilaso 3, PICASSO room

15:00 – 18:00 Welcome and introductory speeches

Welcome from JRC, Ignacio Perez Dominguez, European Commission

Policy Series

  • Paul Dowling, European Commission, JRC.C.6
  • Ioannis Agamemnon Zachariadis, European Commission, TAXUD.C.5
  • Koen Dillen, European Commission, AGRI.E.4
  • Emanuele Ferrari, European Commission, JRC.D.4

Closing & Plan for Symposium, Jason Grant, Virginia Tech

18:00 Cocktail reception with tapas 
20:30 Optional Networking Dinner
Thursday – 19 June 2025
Time/Room Maestranza Room Alcázar Room
9:15 – 10:30 Session 1 Session 2
10:30 – 11:00 Networking Break – Catedral Room
11:00 – 12:15 Session 3 Session 4
12:15 – 13:00 Opening Day Speaker:

Joseph Glauber (virtual)

Chair: Jason Grant

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch – Feria Room
14:30 – 15:45 Session 5 Session 6
15:45 – 16:15 Networking Break – Catedral Room
20:30 Optional Group Dinner (Self-Pay)
Friday – 20 June 2025
Time/Room Maestranza Room Alcázar Room
9:30 – 10:15 Antoine Bouët, Director, CEPII

Chair: Christian Elleby

10:15 – 11:45 Session 7 Session 8
11:45 – 12:15 Break – Catedral Room
12:15 – 13:00 Closing Speaker:

Lars Brink

Chair: Ignacio Perez Dominguez

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch – Feria Room
14:30 Adjourn

 

Thursday – 19 June 2025
Hotel Eurostars Torre Sevilla
Maestranza and Alcázar rooms

9:15 – 10:30

Session 1 – Moderator: Christian Elleby – Weather, Domestic Support, and Trade

S. McCorriston Openness, Extreme Weather and Food Inflation: The Experience of the UK

 

B. Kumar State Procurement at Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and Farmgate Price Distortions: Evidence from Rice and Wheat Markets
S. Rege Trade analysis of all major crops in ten African countries linking farm optimization and general equilibrium models using supply elasticity

Session 2 – Moderator: Christine Wieck – Food Security

C. Wieck Navigating geopolitical risks for food security: strategic lessons from country-specific experiences
M. Rogna Impact of Energy Price Shocks on Local Food Prices: a Transmission Analysis
E. Ayesu Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Maritime Transport Infrastructure on Intra-African Agricultural Trade

10:30 – 11:00

Networking Break – Catedral Room

11:00 – 12:15

Session 3 – Moderator: Amanda Countryman – Deforestation and Environmental Sustainability Measures

O. Boysen How could the EU Deforestation regulation affect cocoa markets and related deforestation
A. Deuss

O. Du Bois

Environmental sustainability initiatives related to highly traded agricultural commodities: Case study of the Australian beef and wheat sectors

Session 4 – Moderator: Tassos Haniotis – Productivity, Trade Costs and AI

A. Kavallari The role of agricultural productivity gaps versus trade costs in determining the intensity of intra-regional agrifood trade
G. Onel U.S. Agricultural Competitiveness in the Age of AI: The Role of Robotics in Shaping H-2A Guest Worker Needs
D. Debnath Impact of India’s agricultural productivity growth during the era of uncertain trade policy on international trade

12:15 – 13:00     Plenary Speaker 

Joseph Glauber

Chair: Jason Grant

Impacts of Tariffs on Global Agricultural Trade Flows

 13:00 – 14:30

Lunch – Feria Room

14:30 – 15:45

Session 5 – Moderator: Jason Grant – State Trading and International Trade Costs

B. Lohmar The Increasing Role of State Trading in China’s Agricultural Imports: Implications for Future Imports and Global Markets
J. Grant Estimating Ad-Valorem Equivalent Bilateral Trade Costs between the U.S. and Major Trading Partners
S. Ikeme A New NTM Dataset: Estimating Ad-Valorem Equivalents Using Different Sources of Data

Session 6 – Moderator: Ian Sheldon – Productivity, Market Structure, and Trade

H. Patterson – Andrews The productivity of animal production in Trinidad and Tobago and implications for increased importation of animal products from the European Union
I. Sheldon and S. McCorriston CBAMs, (Dis)embodied Emissions and Market Structure: The Case of Fertilisers
S. Ashour Regional Crises and Trade Costs: Addressing Non-Tariff Barriers to Food Security in Jordan

15:45 – 16:15

Networking Break – Catedral Room

20:30

Optional Networking Dinner (At Own Expense)

Join fellow attendees for an informal dinner at Lola Cazerola. This is a great opportunity to network and relax. Participants are responsible for their own meals.

Location: Lola Cazerola
Address: Calle Castilla 36, 41010 Seville

Friday – 20 June 2025
Hotel Eurostars Torre Sevilla
Maestranza and Alcázar rooms

9:30 – 10:15       Plenary Speaker

Antoine Bouët

Chair: Christian Elleby

“Reciprocal tariffs on pause? An estimation of the economic impact of the trade policy decisions since January 20, 2025”

 

10:15 – 11:45

Session 7 – Moderator: D. Debnath – Protein Supply and GHG Emissions

M. Himics Greenhouse gas reduction potential in the EU livestock sector
A. Haniotis Global challenges and the EU’s shifting agri-trade goalposts
T. Fellman EU protein supply and demand: Balancing agricultural productivity and competitiveness while advancing a sustainable food system transition

Session 8 – Moderator: Annelies Deuss – Free Trade Agreements in the 21st Century

A. Countryman Effects of NAFTA on Rural U.S. Employment and Wages
L. Cosnard Evolution of EU agri-food trade flows following the implementation of trade agreements
C. Emlinger Assessing the impact of EU trade agreements in the 21st centure: an ex-post evaluation

11:45 – 12:15 :

Networking Break – Catedral Room – Catedral Room

12:15 – 13:00     Plenary Closing Speaker

Lars Brink

Chair: Ignacio Perez Dominguez

Closing Thoughts and Reflections

13:00 – 14:30

Lunch – Feria Room – 34th floor

 

IATRC SUMMER SYMPOSIUM PARTICIPANT LIST – JUNE 2025
No. Name Affiliation
1 Arsov, Spire European Commission
2 Ashour, Sara Humboldt Universitat zu Berlin
3 Awokuse, Titus Michigan State University
4 Boysen, Ole European Commission
5 Bouet, Antoine Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales
6 Brink, Lars Independent Consultant
7 Cosnard, Lionel European Commission
8 Countryman, Amanda Colorado State University
9 Debnath, Deepayan City of Columbia, Missouri
10 Deuss, Annelies Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
11 Du Bois, Olivia Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
12 Elleby, Christian European Commission
13 Emlinger, Charlotte Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales
14 Farkas, Beatrice European Commission
15 Fellmann, Thomas European Commission
16 Grant, Jason Virginia Tech
17 Haniotis, Anastassios International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
18 Himics, Mihaly European Commission
19 Ikeme, Sionegael Colorado State University
20 Kavallari, Aikaterini Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
21 Kumar, Balram Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
22 Liu, Jianwen World Bank
23 Lohmar, Bryan California Polytechnic State University
24 McCorriston, Steve University of Exeter
25 Mensah, Kristina Kristina M. Mensah Consulting
26 Nechifor, Victor European Commission
27 Onel, Gulcan University of Florida
28 Patterson-Andrews, Hazel University of West Indies
29 Pemberton, Carlisle Anglican Church, Trinidad and Tobago
30 Perez-Dominguez, Ignacio European Commission
31 Pieralli, Simone European Commission
32 Rafajlovic, Juanita Government of Canada
33 Rege, Sameer European Commission
34 Rogna, Marco European Commission
35 Sahoo, Amarendra European Commission
36 Seale, James University of Florida
37 Sheldon, Ian The Ohio State University
38 Shelton, Jennifer Virginia Tech
39 Tillie, Pascal European Commission
40 Wahl, Thomas North Dakota State University
41 Wieck, Christine Universitat Hohenheim