London, August 3 (HNA) – Agriculture negotiations chair introduces draft text for a ministerial outcome on farm trade The Chair of the negotiations on agricultural trade, Ambassador Gloria Abraham Peralta (Costa Rica), introduced on 29 July her draft negotiation text aimed at facilitating consensus among members and seeking possible landing zones for an outcome on agriculture at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) starting in late November.
The draft text sets out suggested ministerial decisions on 7 agriculture negotiation topics: domestic support, market access, export restrictions, export competition, cotton, public stockholding for food security purposes, and a special safeguard mechanism; and one cross-cutting issue, transparency.
In her introductory remarks, the Chair said the draft text was an attempt to reflect the collective efforts made by members over the past year through various informal and formal processes. It builds upon the Chair’s report and the reports of the Chair facilitators (who assisted the Chair’s work on each topic) and drew inspiration from members’ submissions, including those submitted in recent weeks.
¨The text takes into account the range of views that have been expressed by Members and seeks to chart a way forward with this in mind. It represents my honest effort to identify potential ‘landing zones’. It’s not meant to be perfect or summarize all views. But it is a tool for you to engage with one another in a constructive exchange,” the Chair said, noting the document is meant to evolve as the negotiations proceed to reflect new inputs and submissions.
For some areas where wider gaps remain in positions, the Chair said the text seeks to identify options for members to consider, thereby sketching out the contours for possible compromises and trade-offs within and across negotiating areas.
The Chair emphasized that more than 25 years after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, the mandate set out under Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture to continue the reform process was still valid today: establishing a “fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system”; progressively reducing support and protection; and taking account of all members’ interests, including special and differential treatment for developing countries, non-trade concerns such as food security, and protection of the environment.
The Chair pointed out that agriculture trade remains highly distorted and protected, despite the rapid growth in trade in food and farm goods over the last quarter-century, more integrated markets, and improvements to food security that have resulted from rising average incomes over this period. However, she said that new challenges such as COVID-19 and climate change are compounding existing problems associated with low agricultural productivity, persistent underinvestment, stagnating rural incomes and enduring poverty and that it was vital WTO members took action to help address these problems.
“WTO members can and should contribute to improving how food and agriculture markets function by redoubling their efforts to achieve an outcome at MC12”, she told the meeting.
Noting members´ continued divergences, including on some critical issues, the Chair admitted that “an MC12 outcome won’t be a comprehensive solution to all the problems facing food and agriculture markets today.” Nevertheless, “it is urgent for us to layout a pathway forward to guide our future work and set out markers for what we wish to achieve together, including at subsequent Ministerial Conferences, ” she said.
Looking ahead, the Chair appealed for members’ efforts to enhance engagement, summon the political will, and set out a direction for future progress at the WTO negotiating table. “It is our responsibility to contribute to the broader collective effort to rebuild more inclusive and sustainable economies as we all work to overcome the pandemic and lay the foundations for a more resilient future.”