Agriculture negotiations Chair reports on prospects for progress for MC14

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.

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