Economic Arguments in the Czech Discourse about Agricultural Trade Policy

Abstract

The aim of this article is to contribute to the discussion of the political
economy of trade policy. We also focus on the issue of foreign agricultural
trade policy in the contemporary Czech Republic. We assume that in the
Czech discourse the position of economic nationalism and mercantilism is
clearly dominant. We would like to demonstrate this through a content
analysis of several major Czech journals. We also believe that the
arguments of those who request further regulation of agricultural trade are
not much different from those articulated in the discussion between the
free trade stance and the mercantilist stance. Even though the prevailing
arguments of classical economists are still not entirely accepted in the
Czech Republic (certainly not in its economic policy), the strong mercantilist
position in favor of the primary sector in the country, which has a strong
comparative advantage in industrial production, is nevertheless an
interesting object of research interest.