WTO Members Weigh
Agriculture Talks Ahead of MC14, Stress Food Security and Pragmatism
At
the 23 September meeting of the WTO Committee on Agriculture in Special Session,
Chair Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain (Pakistan) briefed members on
consultations ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in March 2026. He
noted a “strong sense of realism” but also scepticism over bridging gaps in
time for concrete outcomes.
Members
underscored the importance of food security, including public
stockholding and curbs on export restrictions, as a potential basis for
agreement. Discussions also touched on market access, domestic support, cotton,
and trade facilitation challenges, with the Cairns and African Groups
reporting constructive consultations.
The
Secretariat presented the history of agriculture negotiations and data on
tariff treatment in regional trade agreements, showing that agricultural
products face higher remaining tariffs than non-agricultural goods.
Several
members called for technical, data-driven discussions and expert-led side
events to maintain momentum. On the Special Safeguard Mechanism, proponents pressed
for progress to help developing economies manage import surges and price
shocks, while others remained sceptical.
Ambassador
Hussain urged members to share written submissions soon, stressing
transparency, inclusivity, and the need for achievable, results-oriented
outcomes for MC14 in Cameroon.
At
a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session on 23 September,
Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain of Pakistan, the Chair of the agriculture
negotiations, briefed members on his recent consultations, including prospects
for progress ahead of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) in March 2026.
Members recognized the challenges confronting the negotiations and voiced their
support for realistic and pragmatic, results-oriented work leading to MC14.
Some members expressed hope that they would soon be in a position to present
new submissions.
Ambassador
Hussain told members he had held consultations to survey their positions and
that there was a strong sense of realism and pragmatism among delegations, but
that there was also scepticism that divergences could be overcome in time for
substantive outcomes by MC14 in just six months’ time.
He
also noted that members had been following trade policy developments over
recent months and noted the sense that it could now be more challenging to
reach consensus than in previous periods.
“The
current turbulence in the international trading system undoubtedly adds to the
prevailing uncertainty,” the Chair said.
Despite
that, he added that during his consultations many members had underscored the
importance of securing some concrete and meaningful outcomes on agriculture and
food security as part of the MC14 package.
Further
to requests made by a member at the last Committee meeting, the Secretariat
made a presentation outlining the history of negotiations on market access in
WTO agriculture negotiations since 1999. This looked at the evolution of
negotiations from the initial launch through to more recent efforts to identify
potential "low hanging fruits” and more incremental outcomes.
The
Secretariat also made a presentation entitled "Market Access for
Agricultural Products in Regional Trade Agreements." Key findings
included:
RTAs
eliminate tariffs on a large share of all agricultural tariff lines, although
the proportion is significantly lower than that for non-agricultural goods;
A
large share of agricultural imports becomes duty-free, although once again the
share is lower than for non-agricultural goods;
Remaining
tariffs on agricultural products are much higher compared to those on
non-agricultural goods.
The road to MC14 in
Cameroon
Reverting
to the road ahead to MC14 in Cameroon, Ambassador Hussain noted that members
active in the negotiations can generally be categorized into three main groups:
Those
who have already initiated consultations with other members without requesting
facilitation from the Chair. This group notably includes proponents of further
action on food export restrictions, as well as the Cairns Group of agricultural
exporting countries and the African Group, who continue to work together on
domestic support and public stockholding for food security.
The
second group comprises those who prefer to pursue their internal consultations
before engaging in outreach with other members.
The
third group, composed of market access proponents, who have sought the Chair’s
assistance in facilitating their interactions with other members.
Bearing
in mind the significant gaps between WTO members’ negotiating positions, and
the absence of new submissions by members, Ambassador Hussain told the meeting
that he had no plans at present to introduce a Chair’s text in the run-up to
MC14.
Several
members stressed that enhancing food security must remain a central objective
in the negotiations. They suggested that, as most members seemed to agree on
that core principle, it could be the kernel of an achievable agreement for
MC14, including possibly some immediate deliverables for the most vulnerable
countries.
Some
members underscored the need to address the issue of export restrictions on
food as part of the negotiations on food security. Another member called for a
more holistic approach to food security.
Other
topics discussed during the meeting included the importance of improving market
access, with members commending the Secretariat for its presentations, possible
progress on the cotton development track, and exploring practical solutions to
address trade facilitation challenges.
Several
members also reaffirmed the importance of a well-functioning multilateral
rules-based trading system, emphasizing that it is essential for ensuring
predictability and reducing costly uncertainty.
The
Cairns Group and the African Group updated participants on their continued
consultations, which have mainly focused so far on domestic support to the farm
sector. The consultations were being held in a constructive spirit. Both groups
conveyed their hope to present a contribution in due course.
Several
delegations believed that more technical, data-informed discussions, including
expert-led side events, to advance dialogue on complex, cross-cutting issues
could help maintain momentum in the talks.
Ambassador
Hussain told the meeting he will continue to facilitate focused discussions. He
will encourage members to explore innovative approaches, collaborate
effectively, and report their progress to the full membership. Delegations
could usefully share written contributions which could be adopted at MC14, he
said.
Public
food stockholding and Special Safeguard Mechanism
In
the second session, members exchanged views on the procurement of food at
administered prices for public stocks in developing economies and on the
proposed Special Safeguard Mechanism – a proposed new tool that would allow
developing economies to raise tariffs temporarily in the event of a sudden
surge in import volumes, or a price depression. The goal was to facilitate more
focused discussions on both topics. The Chair, building on the report of his
recent consultations, noted that open and frank exchanges remain essential to
making meaningful progress on this key issue.
During
the meeting, developing economies that advocate for fast-tracking action in
this area highlighted the importance of addressing food insecurity and called
for re-energizing the negotiations. Several developing members pointed to their
proposal, JOB/AG/229, as the basis for seeking consensus considering the
limited time ahead of MC14. Other members were more sceptical, noting that the
proposal had not garnered consensus at previous ministerial conferences.
On
the Special Safeguard Mechanism, several proponents reiterated the importance
of this policy tool to improve resilience, food security, and livelihoods of
developing economies' vulnerable agriculture sectors in a volatile market
environment. They called for more active engagement from other members in order
to work towards an outcome on this long-standing issue.
Some
members also made suggestions on how to break the current impasse, including
holding thematic sessions on specific technical issues and pursuing an interim
price-based safeguard mechanism.
The
Chair urged members to continue exploring ways that could help to bridge
differences and result in substantive progress.
Next steps
The
Chair told the meeting that he remained available to facilitate engagement
between WTO members. He noted that while several members prefer to continue
engaging with one another informally before widening discussions to the
membership as a whole, he would promptly organize the series of meetings
requested by proponents of improvements in agricultural market access.
He
welcomed the indications made by some members that new submissions were in
progress and urged them to share their proposals with the entire membership as
soon as possible given the short time available.
"Negotiations
must be transparent and inclusive based on member submissions shared with the
whole membership, with the CoASS at the very heart of
the process," he said.