“It is up to members — and only to members — to close the gaps and agree on an outcome for the agriculture negotiations,” said the Chair.

Members shared their views on the process and format to follow in the upcoming negotiations. Members also exchanged views on the negotiating chair's latest draft negotiation text (TN/AG/50), which was circulated on 23 November 2021. 

The document is the first such negotiating text in over a decade.  It sets out draft deliverables on seven negotiating topics: domestic support; market access; export competition (covering export subsidies and export measures with equivalent effect); food export restrictions; cotton; public stockholding for food security purposes; and a proposed “special safeguard mechanism” which would allow developing countries to raise tariffs temporarily when import volumes surge or prices fall suddenly. It also includes draft text on the cross-cutting issue of transparency.

Many members said they appreciated the Chair's efforts to help members identify areas for potential consensus outcomes in the talks and argued the negotiating text should be preserved, so that future discussions could build upon it.

These members nevertheless considered that it required further work. Some would like to see more ambitious text on specific issues, while others considered that the level of ambition should be lowered in order to improve the likelihood of the text achieving consensus at MC12. One member suggested that further technical work could be conducted before text-based negotiations resume.

Another group of members proposed a review of the text in order to ensure it reflects a balance between the views of different members. They highlighted in particular the sections of the text covering public food stockholding, domestic support, the special safeguard mechanism and cotton. One member considered that the draft text should be withdrawn or shelved.

Many members underscored the urgency of addressing food security and poverty amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Both exporting and importing country members, from the developing and developed world, highlighted this issue as a shared priority. Members highlighted in particular the issues of public food stockholding, domestic support, agricultural market access, and a proposal to exempt from export restrictions food which is purchased for humanitarian purposes by the World Food Program.

Many members also supported calls for more technical discussions both within the talks and on the sidelines of the formal negotiation track, to strengthen understanding of complex issues.

Chair: keep the momentum and make best use of time

The Chair reported on the results of consultations she held on 17 January with around 30 heads of delegations and group coordinators.  She told the meeting that these talks had confirmed members' commitment to the negotiations and their desire to reach a balanced and meaningful outcome at MC12.

She acknowledged members' different views on her draft text and reiterated that the text should be “seen as being in square brackets” (i.e. still not agreed). She reassured members that all technical discussions, including the small-group meetings, were and will remain inclusive and transparent, with the Chair reporting the results of the talks to the full membership at each negotiating group meeting.

The Chair also urged all members to adopt a pragmatic and flexible approach in the negotiations, and encouraged them to share new submissions on specific topics.

More

Background information on the agriculture negotiations is available here.

The agriculture glossary is available here.