WTO members review agriculture negotiation history, discuss ways forward
Negotiations on agriculture began in 2000, under Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture, but have achieved only limited progress since then. (See WTO briefing note online here).
At the 23 September meeting of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session (CoA-SS), the Chair, Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain (Pakistan), asked members to share their views on how to advance the negotiations. WTO Secretariat staff also made a presentation on the history of negotiations on agricultural domestic support as part of a series looking at how talks on various negotiating topics have evolved over time.
Agriculture remains "central"
Many members reaffirmed that agriculture remains central to the WTO negotiating agenda and underscored the importance of the CoA-SS as the central forum for the agriculture negotiations. However, some members underscored the implications of the broader discussions on WTO reform for agriculture, while one member viewed the two processes as complementary.
At the meeting, many members expressed their desire to make progress in the negotiations and made specific suggestions to this effect. However, some considered that previous efforts at breaking the logjam on agriculture had proven ineffective thus far and called for reflection on the underlying reasons behind the impasse.
The suggestions aimed at resuming the negotiations included technical exchanges, thematic sessions, evidence-based discussions, and regular, structured engagement among members to help rebuild the conditions necessary for resuming meaningful negotiations. Some also suggested that technical exchanges be facilitated by a compilation from the Secretariat of all existing proposals, topic by topic, to enable a more targeted and structured discussion.
Many members from various groups underscored that food security should remain the primary goal of the negotiations. Some members emphasized that the negotiations should take full account of the profound changes that have taken place over the past 30 years, as well as contemporary challenges facing the agricultural trading system. Some members also emphasized the need to give priority to topics covered by past ministerial decisions, while others underscored the need to ensure balanced and comprehensive negotiations across the board.
Members highlighted the importance of preserving and sharing institutional memory of the negotiations. They welcomed the presentations already provided by the WTO Secretariat on the history of the negotiations and called for similar presentations on other negotiating topics in order to help inform and advance future discussions. Some further proposed undertaking a review of recent developments in agricultural markets - including trends in production, trade, export, and overall levels of protection - to better understand contemporary challenges facing members.
A long history of talks on agricultural domestic support
In response to earlier requests by members, the Secretariat presented a concise overview of the history of domestic support negotiations.
The history stretched back to the first rounds of agricultural rules developed under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), beginning in 1947. The overview looked at the disciplines and commitments in the Agreement on Agriculture, which was agreed to by negotiators during the Uruguay Round.
The Secretariat presentation included a summary of members' negotiating submissions, including technical and discussion papers, as well as various ministerial statements and drafts put forward in recent years.
Members expressed their gratitude for the presentation and the valuable context it provided.
The meeting was followed by dedicated sessions looking at two specific outstanding negotiating topics. One of the sessions looked at how food purchased in developing economies at administrated prices for public stocks is addressed under WTO farm subsidy rules. The other session considered the proposed "special safeguard mechanism" which would allow developing economies to raise tariffs temporarily in the event of a sudden surge in import volumes or a fall in prices.
WTO members continued to express divergent views on how to move forward in the negotiations in these two areas.
Further information on the topics being discussed in the negotiations is available here. A post-MC14 briefing note on agriculture is available here.
Next steps
The Chair concluded the session by saying that he would continue to engage with members in informal sessions with the aim of seeking convergence. He stated that future sessions of the CoA-SS would include thematic presentations on export competition (an area of the talks covering export subsidies and measures considered to be analogous), export restrictions on foodstuffs, the procurement of food for public stocks, the proposed "special safeguard mechanism" and cotton.
The next meetings of the negotiating body on agriculture are planned for 27 October and 23 November.
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