WTO farm negotiations at critical juncture: Cautious outlook ahead of MC14

 

Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain (Pakistan), chair of the negotiations, shared a pragmatic but cautious view of the prospects for achieving significant progress.

 

At a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture, Ambassador Hussain reported that while there is a realism and pragmatism among the delegations, there also persists a considerable skepticism on the possibility of overcoming divergences in a timely manner. "The current turbulence in the international trading system undoubtedly exacerbates the prevailing uncertainty," he stated.

 

Despite the difficulties, many members have insisted on the importance of obtaining concrete and significant results on agriculture and food security as part of the MC14 package.

 

The meeting also served as a platform for an analysis by the Secretariat on the access to agricultural marketsA presentation revealed that regional trade agreements (RTAs) have succeeded in reducing tariffs, albeit at a significantly lower rate for agricultural products compared to non-agricultural products. Furthermore, the remaining tariffs in the agricultural sector are considerably higher.

 

The road to CM14 in Cameroon

 

Ahead of MC14, Ambassador Hussain divided members into three key groups:

• The first group has already initiated consultations with other members, including the Cairns Group exporting countries and the African Group, which are working together on domestic support and public reserves.

• the second group prefers to hold internal consultations before contacting other members.

• the third group, focused on market access, has requested the assistance of the Presidency to facilitate its interactions.

 

Given the marked differences and the absence of new proposals, Ambassador Hussain confirmed that does not plan to present a text from the Presidency before the conference.