December 18, 2002

Contact: Sophia Murphy, 612-203-5648

Ben Lilliston, 301-270-4787

Minneapolis - The World Trade Organization (WTO) introduced a negotiating text on agriculture today that shows how far apart developed and developing countries remain while continuing to ignore critical issues facing farmers and food security around the world, according to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

The 90-page document is scheduled to be debated by WTO members over the next several months before a final agreement is reached in March. That agreement will then be put on hold until other items on the WTO agenda are agreed upon.

"It stretches reality to think that the WTO can take 90 pages of major differences and turn it into 10 pages of agreement in three months," says IATP Trade Director Sophia Murphy. "How can members address these disagreements, and engage their elected officials and other interested parties in such a short time? This schedule is unrealistic and further undermines the so-called development spirit of Doha."

Some of the key differences separating countries include:

• Export Subsidies. The US and most developing countries have proposed the elimination of export subsidies. The EU, with a few others such as Japan, just wants to trim them a little. Despite the vague promise in Doha of "eventual elimination" it is clear the EU is far from ready to take this essential step towards ending distortions in world agricultural markets.
• Dumping. For the first time, several developing countries, including the Phillipines, Argentina and Thailand, have offered proposals that would provide a defense against the dumping of agricultural commodities (sales at below cost of production prices) in world markets. The two main sources of dumped commodities, the U.S. and EU, have offered nothing to deal with this problem although it is crippling farm economies around the world, especially in poor countries. The Harbinson text loses these ideas by confusing them with temporary border controls – it is essential these proposals resurface for consideration in their own right. If the U.S. and EU continue to violate basic principles set forth in the GATT on dumping, expect to see more anti-dumping cases before the WTO trade dispute panel.

• Tariff Increases. Many developing countries, including Pakistan, the Dominican Republic, Nigeria and Sri Lanka, want the right to raise tariffs on some crops, and to exclude some crops from any further liberalization – crops that are meet objective criteria as essential to their food security. Not one developed country has welcomed the proposal. The EU and US are in agreement in attacking tariffs rates in developing countries, as part of an effort to gain access to developing country markets. This continues to be a major point of disagreement.
• Food Security. A number of developing countries have proposed an SSG (Special Safeguard) mechanism that provides temporary protection to countries from import surges. They have offered some crop exemptions for food security, and potential tariff increases where food security crops are not adequately protected. Many countries, except the US, have supported this idea, but in the detail not much real protection is being offered.

To read the full text of the WTO agriculture proposal, go to: www.tradeobservatory.org

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy.