Nigeria – Trade β Blog

‘Mission impossible’ and ‘mission essential’ collide in WTO farm talks

India insists on a stand-alone decision on food security stocks procured with large subsidies. The US says consensus by next month is impossible

Posted by Peter Ungphakorn
JANUARY 17, 2024 | UPDATED JANUARY 18, 2024

The US, EU and the majority of the Cairns Group told fellow agriculture negotiators at the World Trade Organization yesterday (January 16) that a stand-alone decision on relaxing rules on food security stocks procured with higher than permitted subsidies will not be possible at next month’s WTO Ministerial Conference.

The writing had been on the wall for some time. In this meeting, according to sources, the US seems to have taken the lead, in declaring that deep divisions among members cannot be resolved and therefore a consensus decision at the Abu Dhabi conference will be impossible.

The US reaction is said to have come after India sought to “refresh members’ memory” by recalling mandates from previous years.

The purpose for India and its allies would be to find a permanent solution to replace the present temporary fix for when developing countries exceed their domestic support entitlements through purchases into food security stocks at subsidised prices.

WTO ministers’ meeting — no interaction, no movement, just speeches

They met. They spoke. They showed no sign of listening. They made no attempt to find consensus to break the deadlock on agriculture

Posted by Peter Ungphakorn
DECEMBER 1, 2023 | UPDATED DECEMBER 5, 2023

The supposed “crisis” meeting of about 25 World Trade Organization ministers on November 28, 2023 showed no sign of breaking the deadlock in the WTO agriculture negotiations.

With barely two working months to go members now face the real risk of no outcome at all on agriculture at the February 2024 Ministerial Conference.

According to sources, the three-hour online meeting consisted only of a series of prepared statements echoing what delegations have been saying in the negotiations. No minister made any attempt even to edge towards compromise, even though they had been urged to do so before the meeting.

Nor did the chair attempt to encourage a dialogue, or to explore possible compromises. The presiding minister was UAE Foreign Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, who will chair the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Conference.

India in silent protest over Cairns Group subsidy proposal in WTO farm talks

WTO chief calls urgent meeting of a group of ministers to rescue agriculture negotiations

SEE ALSO
Text: the Cairns Group’s 2023 proposal on agricultural domestic support
with notes and explanations

UPDATE: The story below is mainly about the session on subsidised procurement for food security stocks. The meeting continued to November 22 and included a presentation by India, in a session on domestic support more generally, calling for “fixed external reference prices” to be updated. They are used to calculate trade-distorting domestic support, and are currently for 1986–88 (explained here). Reactions were mixed according to this WTO website news story.

Posted by Peter Ungphakorn
NOVEMBER 22, 2023 | UPDATED NOVEMBER 29, 2023

World Trade Organization (WTO) agriculture negotiations were plunged deeper into deadlock this week (November 20 and 21, 2023) when India refused even to discuss a Cairns Group proposal to cut trade-distorting domestic support.

In an attempt to rescue the talks in time for the next WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, February 26–29, 2024, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has called an urgent on-line meeting of ministers from some key players on November 28.