** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT STUDIES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE POLICY AND LARGE-SCALE INTERNATIONAL LAND ACQUISITIONS FOR AGRICULTURE. IN PARTICULAR, WE STUDY THE ROLE OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION, IN THE FORM OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS (RTAS), AS A DRIVER OF LAND TRANSACTIONS. RTAS--MULTILATERALTREATIES THAT REDUCE TRADE COSTS THROUGH LOWER TARIFFS AND HARMONIZED TRADE PROCEDURES--REPRESENT THE PRIMARY POLICY TOOL IN TRADE LIBERALIZATION WITH OVER 350 DIFFERENT RTAS CURRENTLY IN FORCE INVOLVING ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. GIVEN THE IMPORTANT ROLE THESE FOREIGN LAND ACQUISITIONS MAY PLAY IN GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL SUPPLY CHAINS AND THEIR IMPACTS ON FOOD SECURITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE CURRENTLY MISSING INSIGHTS INTO EFFECTIVE POLICY DESIGN ACROSS A BROAD RANGE OF ECONOMIC POLICY AREAS, INCLUDING AGRICULTURAL POLICY, TRADE POLICY, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY. THROUGH THE USE OF QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS COMBINED WITH DETAILED DATA ON INDIVIDUAL FOREIGN LAND TRANSACTIONS AND RTAS AROUND THE WORLD, WE WILL ESTIMATE THE CAUSAL EFFECTS OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION ON FOREIGN LAND ACQUISITIONS. WE WILL DISSEMINATE OUR FINDINGS AS AN ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLE AND ASSOCIATED CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS. WE WILL ALSO ENGAGE IN TARGETED STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH TO TRANSLATE OUR RESEARCH FINDINGS INTO ACTIONABLE POLICY-RELEVANT INSIGHTS.CAUSAL ESTIMATES OF THE IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION ON LARGE-SCALE LAND ACQUISITIONS CAN INFORM RESEARCHERS AND POLICY-MAKERS ON THE EFFECTS OF NEGOTIATED TRADE AGREEMENTS. IF TRADE LIBERALIZATION INDUCES CROSS-BORDER LAND ACQUISITIONS THAT DIVERT THE SUPPLY OF AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AWAY FROM THE GLOBAL MARKET TO ACQUIRING COUNTRIES (I.E. IF FIRMS SECURE FOREIGN LAND TO IMPORT AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT PRODUCED ABROAD), THEN TRADE LIBERALIZATION BETWEEN FOREIGN COUNTRIES MIGHT THREATEN DOMESTIC MARKET ACCESS AND DISRUPT DOMESTIC FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS. INSIGHTS FROM THIS PROJECT MAY HELP ANTICIPATE SUBSEQUENTPATTERNS OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT, POTENTIAL FOOD SUPPLY DISRUPTIONS, AND LAND USE CHANGE FOLLOWING THE ENACTMENT OF AN RTA, BUT MIGHT ALSO BE USEFUL IN TRADE NEGOTIATIONS THEMSELVES. UNDERSTANDING THESE EFFECTS IS IMPORTANT, AS OFFSHORING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION PUTS LARGE SHARES OF THE DOMESTIC FOOD SYSTEMS OUTSIDE THE EFFECTIVE POLICY REACH OF DOMESTIC GOVERNMENTS, LIMITING THE ABILITY TO ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE OR ENSURE STABILITY IN FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS. THIS LIMITED POLICY REACH IS PARTICULARLY ACUTE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WHERE LARGE-SCALE LAND TRANSACTIONS LEAD TO WIDE-SPREAD DEFORESTATION AND ASSOCIATED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL INPUTS AND INSIGHTS INTO EFFECTIVE POLICY SOLUTIONS TO MITIGATE POTENTIAL LEAKAGES IN AGRICULTURAL TRADE POLICY THAT MIGHT UNDERMINE THE SUSTAINABILITY AND SECURITY OF U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS.