AGRICULTURE MODALITIES: FINAL COUNTDOWN
Full story Volume 7 Number 11 26 March 2003
Members are meeting in a last special (negotiating) session of the WTO Committee on Agriculture (CoA) from 25 - 31 March, but little in the way of progress is being reported. The Doha work programme requires Members to establish modalities for the ongoing agriculture negotiations by 31 March 2003. These modalities are to set out the scope of the negotiations, the methodology to be followed during the actual process, and the end-results expected. Confirming the predictions recently expressed by various actors and observers of the negotiation process (BRIDGES Weekly, 5 March), the 25 March informal plenary session revealed that trading partners are still too far apart in their positions to agree on a framework accord by the end-March deadline. Members are instead trying to identify issues on which further 'technical discussions' can be held, keeping the process alive. They are also seeking to agree on a process outcome to manage the time up until the fifth WTO Ministerial meeting in Cancun in September, where they hope modalities can be hammered out at the Ministerial level.
During the next few days, Members will have time to consult bilaterally and plurilateraly, and at an informal session on Friday, 28 March, trading partners will report back on the results achieved in their efforts to bridge the remaining gaps. Members have further time to continue their consultations over the weekend, before a formal wrap-up meeting on Monday, 31 March.
Some "new ideas" presented...
In discussions on 25 March, several Members tabled "new ideas" that had emerged during informal talks between trading partners since the conclusion of the last special session on 24 - 28 February. The US, for example, proposed a new "banded approach" in the reduction of Amber Box (trade-distorting) support. This model would be similar to the formula used by Stuart Harbinson, Chair of the special session, in the context of market access expansion where -- for developed countries -- tariffs higher than 90 percent should be slashed by 60 percent on average, whereas those between 90 and 15 percent as well as 15 percent downwards would be cut by only 50 and 40 percent, respectively. The US further called for establishing clear eligibility criteria for developing countries with regard to special and differential treatment (S&D) under the new agriculture trade rules.
On market access, Canada suggested establishing an ambitious reduction formula, which would, however, retain some flexibility in specific areas. Canada has so far not supported demands by the US and the Cairns Group of agricultural exporters to cut tariffs uniformly to 25 percent, mainly due to its sensitive dairy and poultry sectors. Regarding domestic support, Canada proposed a "tiered approach" along the lines of the new model suggested by the US.
A group of 12 developing countries -- including Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Korea, Nigeria, Turkey, Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Venezuela -- introduced its approach to the concept of 'strategic' or 'special' products (incorporated by Harbinson in the draft market access modalities, see BRIDGES Weekly, 12 February). The group is, inter alia, of the view that only a "number-based self-declaration" of products to be excluded from general tariff reduction commitments could effectively address developing country concerns related to food security, rural development and livelihood security. Moreover, according to the alliance, the provision of flexibilities for 'strategic' products should be extended to all pillars, including domestic support and export competition.
Mauritius, a net food-importer and small island developing country, called for clearer provisions for the treatment of small and vulnerable countries, as addressed in paragraph 57 of the revised first modalities draft.
Reportedly, Cairns Group member Argentina introduced a new proposal on trade preferences that calls for technical assistance help smaller economies diversify away from the export crops under preferential trade terms.
...but still no breakthrough in sight
In their reactions to the new ideas presented, some Members signalled interest, whereas several others said that they were unable to sign on the new approaches tabled. Cautious liberalisers such as the EU and Switzerland rejected the US intervention on harmonising trade distortive domestic support straight ahead, whereas some Cairns countries found that such a banded model would not go far enough.
Commenting on Harbinson's revised modalities draft (BRIDGES Weekly, 20 March 2003), Japan and Bulgaria said that they could still not accept the draft on the table as a basis for negotiation. In general, several key actors in the discussions, such as Brazil, Uruguay and Switzerland, overtly stated that they do not expect agreed modalities to emerge from the current CoA negotiating session.
ICTSD reporting; "Agriculture: WTO Members gather with scant hope of meeting agriculture modalities deadline," WTO REPORTER, 26 March 2003; "World farm trade talks deadlocked, deadline looms," REUTERS, 25 March 2003.