BATModel - Renewing International Agricultural Trade

15 organizations and research institutes from 10 EU countries are participating in a four-year study called BATModel, which aims to create better cross-border agricultural trade models than has been the case so far, thus helping decision-makers to achieve better multilateral and regional agreements.

“Next generation” trade agreements are not limited to changes in tariffs and tariff quotas and include elements such as growing consumer concerns about food quality and safety, or the enforceability of labor market considerations.

This project aims to address the shortcomings of current modeling tools. The models so far can basically be divided into two groups: one uses a theoretical approach, while the other uses a data-based approach. By combining the results of these two trends, new types of models can be created that will lead to more efficient trade agreements, both at EU level and at the level of individual countries and even companies and will provide greater security and predictability for cooperating parties.

The core contribution of the project will be the BATModel Modular Platform for agri-food trade modelling that will equip the analytical tools, in particular the simulation models currently used by the European Commission, for the analysis of 21st-century agri-food trade issues. BATModel will provide a new modular generation of trade models to support the Commission, policy-makers and other stakeholders to better account for specific issues such as non-tariff measures, geographical indications, zero trade flows, quality differentiation and global value chains.

To learn more about the project, please visit the website: https://batmodel.org/

Project funding: Horizon 2020

Leader of the consortium: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique

Partners: CASE, Stichting Wageningen Research, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, Universita Degli Studi di Milano, Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet, Jrc -Joint Research Centre, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Centre D'etudes Prospectives et D'informations Internationales, Centro de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agroalimentaria de Aragon, Universitaet Bern, Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia Kozgazdasag- es Regionalis Tudomanyi Kutatokozpont, Universita Degli Studi Roma Tre, Centre for European Policy Studies, Inra Transfert s.a.