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Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Dec25/13) Geneva, 8 Dec (D. Ravi Kanth) — In a pivotal moment for the farm trade talks at the World Trade Organization, multiple members have tabled urgent proposals ahead of a critical meeting of the Doha agriculture negotiating body on 8 December. These submissions aim to restart stalled talks under Article 20 of the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), yet they arrive amid high tension. According to farm trade negotiators familiar with the development, the proposals from the African Group, the Cotton-Four countries, two separate submissions by Brazil and Jamaica, among others, seemingly seek to erase the Doha negotiating developments of the past 25 years, amid a subtle threat to members not to revisit past mandates. This shift creates a stark contradiction, as several negotiators – who asked not to be identified – point out that “it appears puzzling how members are being told not to raise issues based on unresolved and mandated topics,” even as the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) continues to function under the Doha Work Programme. Consequently, the proponents highlight that all proposals submitted last week merely seek ministerial approval at the upcoming WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) for negotiations to be conducted ahead of the WTO’s 15th Ministerial Conference (MC15), which is likely to be held in Saudi Arabia. LDC PROPOSAL On 8 December, Gambia, on behalf of the least-developed countries (LDCs), circulated a restricted proposal centred on “food security and resilience.” It called for making “progress toward the achievement of a fair agricultural trading system, ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, while promoting sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems, in fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal 2 of the United Nations.” The LDC group demanded a strong ministerial mandate on three fronts: 1. To instruct the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session to continue negotiations on the reform process of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) towards a fair agricultural trading system, taking into account special and differential treatment in accordance with Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) with a particular focus on substantial progressive reductions towards the elimination of trade-distorting domestic support affecting cotton markets, the special safeguard mechanism and a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes covering all programs, particularly those implemented by the LDCs; 2. Attention should be given to food security and resilience for LDCs, particularly on multifaceted vulnerabilities such as disruption of supply, price volatility, natural disasters, and external shocks, including appropriate restraint, within WTO rules, on measures impacting food imports of LDCs and NFIDCs (net food-importing developing countries), among other things. 3. Trade ministers must instruct the CoA-SS to convene dedicated sessions on Public Stockholding Programs for Food Security (PSH) to review the 1986-1988 fixed external reference price used to calculate the amount of domestic support provided under market price support, with a view to making recommendations by the 15th WTO Ministerial Conference. C-4 PROPOSAL Despite reported opposition from the United States against expecting any outcome on cotton at MC14, the Cotton-Four (C-4) countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad – along with Cote d’Ivoire circulated a restricted proposal on 4 December. The proposal (TN/AG/SCC/GEN/28) calls for a commitment “to pursuing and intensifying negotiations on cotton trade-related measures, based on their submissions, and pursuant to the cotton-related elements of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and the Bali, and Nairobi Ministerial Decisions, to address this issue ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically within the agriculture negotiations.” “These negotiations,” state the C-4 countries, “shall seek to reduce substantially and progressively the trade- distorting domestic support in the cotton market.” They further state that “members shall also seek to reduce market access barriers, pursuant to the decisions and declarations listed in paragraph 1, for least developed countries (LDCs) that produce and export cotton.” A farm trade negotiator noted that “China provides duty-free and quota-free market access to C-4 countries, in contrast to the US.” The proposal also urges continued transparency efforts and appeals to members to “open their markets to allow greater purchases of cotton products and by-products from cotton-producing LDCs and the C-4+ countries, including by providing them with duty-free and quota-free market access.” This stands in contrast to the US position, which reportedly insists that “it can only discuss market access and subsidies within the broader Article 20 negotiations, not on a standalone framework.” AFRICAN GROUP PROPOSAL In a detailed restricted proposal (TN/AG/W/12) circulated on 4 December, Mozambique, on behalf of the African Group, laid out a comprehensive vision for agriculture. It begins by affirming that “improving global food security in all its dimensions remains a central objective of the agriculture negotiations” and recognizes “the importance of national policy space that allows developing countries, especially NFIDCs and LDCs to stabilize food markets, support local producers, maintain adequate availability of foodstuffs and address the needs of vulnerable populations.” Key demands include: * Crisis Flexibility: Ministers should agree that developing countries in severe food crisis may exceed the 10% de minimis support limit, up to 20% of the value of production, for a temporary period. * Domestic Support Reform: To “pursue and intensify negotiations on domestic support with a view to achieving substantial and progressive reductions in trade-distorting support in a fair and equitable manner, by targeting the most inequitable elements first.” * Structured Work Programme: The Committee on Agriculture in Special Session must undertake a five-point plan to identify reform elements, agree on methodologies, and set schedules for progress toward modalities by MC15. * Permanent Solution for Public Stockholding (PSH): Building on elements with wide support, including “strengthened legal certainty for developing countries operating PSH programmes” and updated calculation methodologies. This appears to be a direct challenge to the reported US stance; negotiators revealed the US has conveyed that “it was a mistake to agree to the Bali peace clause”, insisting that it will not support the demand for a permanent solution. * Cotton and S&D Treatment: The Group aligns with the C-4 on cotton and underscores that “special and differential treatment must remain integral to all areas of the negotiations. LDCs shall not be required to undertake reduction commitments.” Significantly, the African Group proposal also signals the end of the much-touted Cairns Group and African Group proposal on reforming domestic support through specified product-specific subsidies. In conclusion, the African Group makes its ultimate goal clear: “strengthening the ability of developing countries to pursue food security, preserve the resilience of their food systems and advance agricultural development will be essential to ensuring a fair and effective multilateral trading system.” Together, these proposals set the stage for a confrontational and decisive meeting, pitting the urgent demands of the developing nations against the resistance of the major subsidizers, with the future of equitable global farm trade in the balance. +
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