JULY 2008 PACKAGE: BRIEFING NOTES
Agriculture
The negotiations aim to reform agricultural trade principally in three areas: market access, domestic support and export subsidies. The modalities spell out how to achieve this.
Other briefing notes:
> Director-General's letter to journalists
> Agriculture
> Non-agricultural market access (NAMA)
> Services
> Rules
> Intellectual property
> Other Doha issues
> Aid for Trade
> Jargon buster
> Country groupings
See also:
> Agriculture negotiations
> Doha declaration
> Doha declaration explained
What does this mean for... ?
Market access: tariffs, tariff quotas and safeguards
For wheat, rice, beef, sugar, cheese, potatoes, pineapples, etc - how deep the cuts on tariffs would be for these depends on:
- how high the current tariff is: higher tariffs have higher cuts, ranging from 50% to 66-73% subject to a 54% minimum average for developed countries, 33.3% to 44-48% for developing
- whether the product is "sensitive" (all countries) or "special" (developing): sensitive products would have cuts of only 1/3, 1/2 or 2/3 of the normal cut but with a quantity allowed in at a lower quota; special products would also have smaller cuts, and some might be exempt completely
- whether the applied tariffs are lower than the bound tariffs. Cuts are made from legally bound rates. Tariffs actually charged can be lower. If a developing country has a bound tariff of 100% but only charges 25%, the bound tariff would be cut by 42.7% ie, cut to 57.3%. That means no change in the 25% tariff actually charged, with room to more than double the tariff.
- the country's status: least-developed countries would make no cuts on any products, developing countries in general would make smaller cuts and have more flexibilities than developed, small and vulnerable economies would make even smaller cuts with even more flexibilities, and countries that recently joined the WTO would also have special terms.
Support for farmers and for agriculture
Support for prices, or for earnings according to how much is produced or sold, would be substantially cut but not eliminated. Countries providing large amounts of support would cut these the most, many are already reforming their programmes. They and the rest would still be allowed a conceptually small or "de minimis" amount limited to 2.5% of the value of production for developed countries, 6.7% for developing. This amount of support for individual products would also be limited to avoid concentration.
But a wide range of support for agriculture as a whole would be allowed without limit under the "Green Box", considered non-trade distorting, i.e., for development, infrastructure, research, agricultural extension, structural adjustment, etc. Conditions would be tightened to prevent direct income supports, etc, from stimulating production.
Export subsidies
These would be eliminated by 2013, including subsidies hidden in export credit, disciplines on state trading enterprises and non-emergency food aid.
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Latest draft text
The latest draft was circulated on 10 July 2008. Its 116 pages are summarized below.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 10 JULY 2008 DRAFT Numbers in the draft tend to be in square brackets (ie, they are still to be negotiated) and in some cases the text offers ranges or alternatives. Terms used here and more details are explained in the longer summary. DOMESTIC SUPPORT (Explanation of the "boxes")
MARKET ACCESS
EXPORT COMPETITION
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2000: Agriculture negotiations launched (March). See backgrounder
2001: Doha Development Agenda launched. Agriculture included (November)
2004: "Framework" agreed (August)
2005: Further agreements in Hong Kong Ministerial Conference (December)
2006: Draft modalities (June)
2007: Revised draft modalities
2007-2008: Intensive negotiations with working documents (September-January)
The way or method of doing something - in the Doha Development Agenda negotiations these are blueprints for the final deal, eg, how to cut tariffs, and reduce agricultural subsidies and support, along with flexibilities to deal with various sensitivities. Once the modalities have been agreed, countries can apply the formulas to tariffs on thousands of products and to various support programmes.