Members briefed on agriculture negotiations history, seek path forward

At a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session (CoA-SS), WTO Secretariat staff delivered two presentations, at the request of members, on the history of agriculture negotiations since the conclusion of the Uruguay Round.  The presentations are part of a series looking at how talks on various negotiating topics have evolved over time. One presentation looked at talks on export competition - covering export subsidies and measures considered to have possible equivalent effects - while the other reviewed talks on food bought for public stocks at administered prices by developing country governments.

During the meeting, the Chair, Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain (Pakistan), said that the sessions provided a common factual basis for members' exchanges and complemented other initiatives aimed at promoting evidence-based negotiations. He asked members to reflect on their positions and share views on how to advance the negotiations.

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.)

Members share reflections on status of negotiations 

The Secretariat's presentations looked at WTO members' proposals on both export competition and food bought for public stocks in the run-up to the WTO ministerial conferences in Bali (2013) and Nairobi (2015) as well as subsequent developments.

Trade officials participating in the meeting thanked staff for the briefings, stating that they found the presentations to be highly informative. Many said they appreciated the historical depth provided by the presentations, which helped them to gain a better understanding of why and how negotiating proposals and decisions were made during past talks.

Agriculture remains "central"

Many delegations expressed support for engaging in 2027 in follow-up discussions on these technical presentations by the Secretariat, as well as further thematic discussions, possibly with inputs from other international organisations, academics or industry stakeholders.

Trade officials reaffirmed that agriculture remains central to the WTO negotiating agenda, with many also underscoring the importance of the CoA-SS as the central forum for the agriculture negotiations. However, some said that agriculture should also be addressed in a complementary manner as part of separate cross-cutting talks on WTO reform.

Many members from various groups made the case that improving food security should remain an important 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. One member underscored that net food importing developing countries were facing today more challenges than 10 years ago and suggested revisiting the provisions related to export to, and by, these countries.

Several members advocated prioritization of topics that were the object of past ministerial decisions, such as public stockholding for food security purposes (food bought for public stocks at administered prices by developing country governments), the special safeguard mechanism (a proposed new tool for developing countries to raise tariffs temporarily in the event of sudden surges in import volumes or price drops) or cotton. Other members reaffirmed their longstanding position that the negotiations should advance in a balanced manner across all negotiating pillars and without preconditions.

Next steps

The Chair concluded by stating that the next meeting of the negotiating body on agriculture planned for 23 November would include thematic presentations on export restrictions and on the special safeguard mechanism. A final presentation on cotton is scheduled for the first meeting of 2027.

China and Brazil announced they are hosting another session of the Dialogue on Emerging Agricultural Trade Issues (EAT) during the week starting 23 November, looking at farmers, cooperatives and trade. Japan informed members that it was also planning to organize a side event during the same week on export restrictions, inviting experts from international organizations and the private sector.