“Our objective is to initiate a process that would reinvigorate the negotiations and achieve tangible progress, while delivering at the same time on food security,” the Chair said.

Chair reports on state of play

The Chair summarized his findings from over 20 consultations with WTO members and groups since July. In a comprehensive report, he noted that nearly all members stressed the importance of an  agriculture outcome at MC13 and had identified food security as their main priority. But he also acknowledged that members had different views on the possible shape of such an outcome.

For many members, he said, the reduction of trade-distorting domestic support is their priority and would contribute to a food security outcome, but views differed on how to progress on this topic. For a large group of developing countries, a food security package should also encompass an agreement on new rules applying to developing countries’ public stockholding programmes with food purchased at administered price. It should also encompass progress on the reduction of trade-distorting support for cotton and on a new “special safeguard mechanism” that would allow developing countries to raise tariffs temporarily in the event of a sudden surge in import volumes or a fall in prices.

Another group of members, said the Chair, consider that efforts should focus on topics where results with immediate effects on food security could realistically be envisaged, such as enhancing transparency in particular export restrictions to reduce price volatility and the intensity of price spikes.

He also told trade officials about progress achieved in the talks. To help identify ways forward, he facilitated a meeting between the African Group and Costa Rica, in which these members explored possible areas of similarity in their negotiating positions on reductions in domestic support to the agricultural sector (see JOB/AG/242 from the African Group and JOB/AG/243 from Costa Rica and further background here). Both parties expressed willingness to continue the discussion and to bring more members into the process in due course, he said.

The Chair said he now intends to extend the element-by-element discussions to other negotiating topics, based on WTO members' submissions. In addition to WTO rules on food bought at administered prices as part of developing countries’ public stockholding programmes, the process could be expanded to other topics, such as export restrictions, market access, cotton and possibly export competition, if members submit new negotiating proposals. The Chair also noted that the link made by many members with market access remained at the core of the discussions on the special safeguard mechanism.

New submission on “green box” support

Australia, on behalf of the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries, highlighted the key elements of its upcoming submission regarding support classed as “green box” under WTO rules — meaning it causes no more than minimal distortion of trade and production and conforms to the requirements set out under Annex 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture. This support is therefore allowed without limit under WTO rules.

Australia pointed out that, according to WTO members’ notifications to the WTO,  green box support is three times higher than all other types of domestic support combined. Over the last two decades, it has more than doubled, outpacing growth in any other domestic support category. Five members account for the bulk of notified green box support, with most of these focussing their support on a single green box category.

Members welcomed the Cairns Group's contribution to an evidence-based discussion and provided preliminary feedback. The submission is expected to be tabled ahead of the next negotiation meeting on 19-20 October, when it is due to be discussed further.

Food bought at minimum prices for public stocks

On 2 October, the Chair facilitated a dedicated discussion on the procurement of food at minimum prices as part of developing countries’ public stockholding programmes for food security purposes. WTO members have agreed to pursue a “permanent solution” to the challenges some developing economies say they face under WTO rules when buying food at government-set prices under these programmes. Many developing members believe that a breakthrough on this topic is needed to unlock progress in other areas of the talks.

However, the Chair told trade officials at the meeting that WTO members' positions remained divergent. Those developing countries that favour greater flexibility in this area continue to call for an outcome on this topic to be fast-tracked, with text-based negotiations on the basis of a joint proposal (JOB/AG/229) that was first put forward at the end of May 2022, just before MC12, by three negotiating coalitions: the African Group; the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States; and the G-33, a group of developing economies which includes major traders such as China, India and Indonesia as well as smaller WTO members.

Other members, including developing and developed countries, favour addressing the topic as part of broader efforts to update WTO rules on domestic support, the Chair said, with many considering Costa Rica’s recent proposals in JOB/AG/243 as a promising basis for doing so. Another proposal submitted by Brazil at the end of May 2022 (JOB/AG/230) also remains on the table.

Some WTO members expressed the view that these programmes should not end up impacting negatively on trade and the food security of other countries, the Chair therefore invited WTO members to consider what sort of safeguards and anti-circumvention measures, including on the sensitive issue of potential exports from such public stocks, could be included in an eventual agreement on this topic. These discussions were based on elements coming from members' recent proposals.

In a separate dedicated discussion on the proposed new “special safeguard mechanism”, WTO members still disagree on whether the topic should form part of wider discussions on improving access to agricultural markets, or instead be treated as a stand-alone issue, the Chair said.

Senior officials to meet ahead of MC13

Many delegates said that senior officials could usefully offer political guidance on how best to overcome the current impasse in the negotiations. Several members called for a strong political signal on the need for MC13 to address food insecurity, including both immediate and longer-term challenges. While some suggested that WTO members could make progress at MC13 on those issues on which consensus could be found, others argued against doing so unless a way forward could be found on addressing outstanding questions in a comprehensive way.

In his concluding remarks, the Chair said he would share his views on how senior officials could best provide useful guidance in the negotiations at a Heads of Delegations meeting scheduled for 10 October.

The Chair noted that, although a lot of work has been conducted since the beginning of the year, much more also remains to be done.

“There is an urgent need for our negotiations to begin delivering real outcomes,” he said.

More

The WTO's agriculture negotiations encompass various topics, including domestic support, market access, export competition, export restrictions, cotton, public stockholding for food security purposes, the special safeguard mechanism and the cross-cutting issue of transparency.

More on the WTO agriculture negotiations: WTO | Agriculture — negotiations

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