WTO members explore path forward on agricultural negotiations

Members reaffirmed that agriculture remains central to the WTO negotiating agenda and underscored the importance of the committee as the centre of global agricultural negotiations. Some members expressed the view that agriculture should also form part of the broader WTO reform discussions while some others cautioned against a risk of duplication of work.

Noting that ministers had not adopted a text on agriculture at MC14, the Chair of the negotiations on agriculture, Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain (Pakistan), said that he had held informal meetings with members aimed at gauging their views. He also pointed to the summary report of the Ministerial Session on Agriculture at MC14 as a useful reference for identifying ways forward.

"We need to rebuild trust, exercise flexibility, and be committed to explore alternative ways of doing things," said Ambassador Hussain.

"Regarding our work ahead, we do not need to start from scratch. We have many proposals and submissions to build on, and I am sure there will be new proposals from members, which provide a solid basis for us to make progress in the negotiations," he concluded.

India re-submitted its proposed text from MC14. The presentation urged members to reaffirm past ministerial mandates, and to prioritise negotiations on three outstanding areas. These relate to WTO rules on the procurement of food at administered prices for public stocks; a proposed "special safeguard mechanism" that would allow developing economies to raise tariffs temporarily in the event of a sudden surge in import volumes or a fall in prices; and cotton, where West African countries in particular have long called for progress to address distortions in global markets.

Several developing country members supported this approach and reiterated the importance of prioritizing food security and rural livelihood issues and addressing existing asymmetries in the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture.

Others expressed concern that prioritizing some issues over others risked stalemating overall progress. These were of the view that a multi-track, parallel process of negotiations on all the unresolved topics and reflecting all members' interests would be most effective.

Topics on which members continue to hold diverging positions include the reduction of trade-distorting domestic support to the farm sector; improvements in access to agricultural markets; and  export restrictions on food.

Some members considered that previous efforts at breaking the logjam on agriculture had proven ineffective so far and called for reflection on the underlying reasons behind the impasse.

Several members considered that technical exchanges, thematic sessions, evidence-based discussions and regular, structured engagement among members would help rebuilding the conditions for resuming meaningful negotiations.

Some members highlighted the importance of preserving and sharing institutional memory of the talks and called on the WTO Secretariat  to make presentations on the history of the negotiations in order to help inform and advance future discussions. Some further proposed undertaking a review of recent developments in markets, including trends in production, trade, export, and overall levels of protection to better understand contemporary challenges facing members.

The meeting was regarded as incorporating dedicated sessions on public stockholding for food security purposes and on the Special Safeguard Mechanism.

For more background on the WTO agriculture negotiations and MC14: WTO | Agriculture - Post-MC14 Briefing note - 14th WTO Ministerial Conference

Next steps

The Chair concluded the session by saying he would carefully consider all suggestions put forward by members and encouraged them to reflect  on next steps over the summer break. In response to the call made by some members, the Chair invited the WTO Secretariat to prepare a presentation on the history of the negotiations on domestic support to farmers.