Agricultural Policies

Periodical

Agriculture and the Doha Development Agenda

World Bank Publications (2004)

As the multilateral trade negotiations around the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) enter their fourth year, expectations about the chances of a successful conclusion of the round remain mixed. The August 1, 2004 WTO General Council decisions – the so-called “July package” -- have been hailed by some as a historic achievement that helps put the DDA back on track after the “detour” of the WTO Ministerial in Cancun, Mexico, in September 2003.The negotiation frameworks are important steps in the right direction. Still, hard work remains ahead and the negotiations on agricultural trade are at the very core of the DDA. Arguably the most significant piece of the “July Package” concerns agricultural trade. The agreed framework lays out a map for the future elimination of all forms of export subsidies and for better disciplines on export credits, exporting state trading enterprises and food aid. It also introduces new commitments to discipline trade-distorting farm subsidies, promoting deeper cuts in countries with higher subsidies. Moreover, it commits WTO members to pursue “progressivity” in tariff reductions with a view to achieve substantial improvements in market access while allowing for flexibility in the treatment of sensitive products. This outcome is most welcome, not only in view of the checkered history of multilateral disciplines for agricultural trade, but also in terms of its potential to help the DDA deliver on its promise of being a development-oriented round. As discussed below, this is just a first step (albeit an important one) in a long march and the complexities to achieve a final agreement should not be underestimated. Still, the agricultural negotiations have already played an important role in underscoring the emerging new geography of international trade in which developing countries have a growing weight and political voice in multilateral fora, as illustrated by the emergence of the G20.

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