Agriculture
Meeting Highlights Food Security, Urgency of Implementing MC12 Outcomes
Food security
was the main focus of the meeting of the WTO’s Committee on Agriculture on
14-15 September as WTO members discussed how to act quickly amid the ongoing
polycrisis to implement outcomes reached at the 12th Ministerial Conference
(MC12), in particular those related to food security and the WTO response to
the COVID-19 pandemic. Members continued examining each other’s farm policies
to ensure compliance with WTO rules while working across other implementation
issues relevant to the Bali and Nairobi ministerial decisions.
The Chair of the Committee, Mr Marcel Vernooij of the
Netherlands, facilitated the discussion.
A heated debate took place in the informal meeting on
14 September, with an urgent call by some WTO members for establishing a work
programme dedicated to helping net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs)
and least developed countries (LDCs) deal with food insecurity. This is in line
with paragraph 8 of the MC12
Ministerial Declaration on the Emergency Response to Food Insecurity.
On the table were two proposals submitted by Paraguay
(G/AG/W/223) and Egypt (G/AG/W/224), offering initial thoughts on how to
structure the process going forward. Members agreed to having an open and
flexible format and taking up a set of themes under the framework of the work
programme. Some developing members highlighted the importance of examining food
insecurity in light of the current situation and considering the policy space
needed to build resilience. Some members, however, warned that discussing new
flexibilities might entail negotiations that fall within the purview of the
ongoing agriculture negotiations.
Members also emphasized the need for marshalling
resources within the work programme from other competent international
organizations, such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World
Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), to
jointly address the acute global challenge.
The Chair announced an informal meeting will be
convened on 11 October to offer clarity on the themes that would be taken up in
the work programme as well as to agree on working methods and the process to
conduct the work programme. The Chair also alluded to the possibility of organizing
technical workshops on some select themes. Members have until 30 September to
submit their proposals for the themes.
The Committee discussed how to implement the MC12
declaration on the response to the pandemic within the context of agriculture.
Both FAO (G/AG/GEN/204) and
the WFP (G/AG/GEN/205) projected a gloomy prospect for
food security due to the polycrisis that the world is facing - the COVID-19
pandemic, the effects of climate change, conflicts and economic downturn.
FAO laid out a set of alarming figures: nearly one in
three people in the world, around 2.31 billion people, were moderately or
severely food insecure in 2021 — 350 million more people than in 2019, before
COVID-19 broke out. Close to 193 million people across 53 countries were in
need of urgent assistance in 2021. To meet the UN zero-hunger target by 2030,
the world needs to increase agricultural productivity by 28% over the next
decade. In response to what it called a “seismic hunger crisis”, the WFP said
it plans to assist 152 million people in 2022, reaching a record high.
Both UN agencies reaffirmed the critical role of
trade, transparency, cooperation and capacity building. The WFP renewed its
appreciation to the WTO for adopting a “historic decision” to exempt WFP's humanitarian
food purchases from export restrictions at MC12.
The World Bank and the IMF shared their recent work
on how to rally international resources, both strategically and financially, to
help the most vulnerable communities overcome current difficulties and bolster
local food production.
Members welcomed the sobering studies provided by FAO
and the WFP. Some members pointed out the prevailing threat of soaring
fertilizer prices (especially nitrogen fertilizers) as a result of the energy shortage.
Many members shared the actions they have undertaken in funding humanitarian
food aid and technical support to vulnerable countries. Some noted that food
prices have fallen since March, especially after the reopening of the Black Sea
Grain Corridor on 1 August.
Nineteen new issues were taken up for discussion as
members went through each other's farm policies in relation to the three
pillars of agriculture trade: market access, domestic support and export competition.
Items discussed included China's grain reserve and cotton subsidies, the EU's
new common agriculture policy (CAP), India's domestic support for rice, the
UK's post-Brexit farm commitments and the US climate policy and support to
biofuel producers.
On recurring issues, members continued pressing for
more information on China's cotton reserves, India's wheat export restriction,
public stockpiling policies and support for rice and Egypt's export
restrictions.
Members also seized the opportunity to seek clarity
on individual notifications submitted by other members with regard to tariff
quota administration, special agricultural safeguards, domestic support and
export subsidy notifications.
Members heard an update on the development of several
members' request for consultations with India seeking more detailed information
regarding its public stockholding programmes, in line with paragraph
6 of the Bali decision on public stockholding programme for food security
purposes.
Requesting members have yet to agree with India on the date and format for the
consultation.
All questions submitted for the meeting are available
in G/AG/W/222. All questions and replies received are
available on the WTO's Agriculture Information Management
System (AG IMS).
Members approved a WTO Secretariat Tracking Register
(RD/AG/83/Rev.2) as required by the Bali
Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) Decision. The register will record
and track underfill of tariff quotas raised under the mechanism. The first
triennial review of the operation of the decision, focusing primarily on how
transparency of tariff quota administration arrangements could be further improved,
will continue with an aim of concluding at the Committee's November meeting.
The Chair reiterated the importance of enhanced
transparency in the Committee and of members submitting timely and complete
notifications as well as responses to questions raised in the review process.
He urged members to continue improving their compliance with notification
obligations. G/AG/GEN/86/Rev.46 and G/AG/W/204/Rev.7 reflect, respectively, the current
status of members' compliance with notification obligations and the list of
outstanding responses to questions raised by members at the Committee between
2013 and 2021.
Members continued discussing a proposal that the
Secretariat develop a database on domestic support to facilitate their access
to notified support data. The Secretariat also provided an update on the
improvements to the online AGIMS reporting system.