[E-rundbrief] Info 102 - Agriculture Negotiations at the WTO

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 102 - Agriculture Negotiations at the World Trade 
Organization (WTO)

Bad Ischl, 23.4.2004

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Agriculture Negotiations at the World Trade Organization

The European Union and the United States Launch New Effort to Impose their 
Joint Pre-Cancun Ministerial Proposal for Agriculture Trade Over Broad 
Country and Civil Society Opposition by Pushing a "Framework" Agreement.

GENEVA  Through a series of meetings and consultations, the European Union 
(EU), the United States (US) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 
Secretariat staff are trying to re-vitalize the WTO "Doha Agenda" with 
agriculture as one of the key issues. Although the EU and the US appear 
open for dialogue, in reality there are no substantial changes in their 
negotiating positions. They still stick to their common pre-Cancun position 
on agriculture and continue to push for more access to agricultural 
markets, especially in Southern countries. Simultaneously, there is not the 
slightest indication that either the EU or the US are prepared to stop 
dumping agricultural products, that is exporting products at very low 
prices, below the cost of production. Dumping is only possible because of 
low internal market prices, combined with "green box" direct payments or 
other hidden export subsidies, all of which the WTO facilitates. As long as 
agriculture remains in the WTO regime, such policies will continue to 
dominate trade in agriculture. The only viable solution is that the WTO 
must be removed from agriculture.

The EU, the US, and a selective group of countries are meeting in London on 
the 30th of April to try to break the deadlock in the current agricultural 
trade negotiations. They will also use an Organisation for Economic 
Co-operation and Development (OECD) side meeting in Paris on the 14th of 
May to push forward WTO negotiations. Press reports announcing that key G20 
members - such as China, India and Brazil - will be invited to join this 
exclusive "mini-WTO ministerial" indicate that agriculture will be high on 
the agenda.

At the moment, the EU and the US are trying to impose a watered down, 
general agriculture framework, barring any details and figures, in order to 
lock all WTO member countries on the trade-liberalisation track and to 
announce success in WTO negotiations this July, which is an internal 
deadline for declaring that the Doha program is back on track.

Equally worrying is that the G20 seem to be open to negotiate along the 
lines being proposed by the EU and the US, which would require G20 
countries to open their markets while tolerating a continuation of dumping 
by the EU and the US!

The EU is proposing a bi-lateral deal to the Mercosur countries, offering 
increased beef exports to the EU in return for unacceptable trade-offs in 
terms of services, industrial goods, government contracts and investments 
in the WTO negotiations. This deal will hurt EU-beef producers, as well as 
the people of the Mercosur countries, as it organises further EU-US 
corporate "take over" of public sectors and investment in these countries.

The current dynamics in the WTO-negotiations confirm that "nothing has 
changed," despite the emergence of strong developing country blocks, such 
as the G20; the Alliance of Least Developed; and, African, Caribbean and 
Pacific (ACP) countries that united to stop the negotiations in Cancun. 
Dominant powers keep trying to impose their own liberalisation policies, 
which destroy peasant based food production, especially in the developing 
countries, and support the export interests of trans-national corporations.

We call upon governments to reject the WTO agriculture policies imposed by 
the EU and the US and to adopt the following steps:

1) Stop any further negotiations leading to further "liberalisation" in the 
agricultural sector.

2) Start international negotiations in a more appropriate international 
frame work, where food and agriculture are not subject to horse-trading, on 
the following issues:

- the ban of any form of public support if used to export at prices under 
the cost of production, including export subsidies, green box direct 
payments linked with low internal farm prices, or other such instruments;

-the right to protect domestic food production against low price imports 
through the application of tariffs and import quotas. It is a basic right 
to protect and develop food production for domestic needs. There is no 
"right to export." Food should only be exported if there is a justified 
demand and must not destroy domestic food production; and,

-a legal international instrument to curb overproduction especially by 
supply management in the exporting countries. This will require a 
re-opening of the debate on commodity agreements, as well as discussions on 
effective supply management schemes at the national level in exporting 
countries.

3) Give a stronger role to FAO and UNCTAD to discuss these issues, 
incorporating the views and demands of peasants, small scale farmers and 
fishers, and civil society organisations. Issues must include peasant based 
(instead of corporate based) sustainable food production with local 
resources (instead of industrial inputs) in a perspective of stronger 
domestic food and agricultural policies at the national level. In this 
regard, there must also be a stronger commitment of the state, as well as 
commodity agreements and trade regulations that protect those who are the 
most vulnerable producers, while placing limits on the practises of 
trans-national corporations.

Signed by: APVVU - India, Aras Institute-Indonesia, Asia Pacific Network on 
Food Sovereignty, CENSA-USA, COECOCeiba-Amigos de la Tierra-Costa Rica, 
COSADER-Cameroon, Focus on the Global South-Thailand , Food First-USA, 
IATP-USA, IBON-Philippines, Institute for Global Justice-Indonesia, IRDF- 
Philippines, MIJARC, NAWF - India, Public Citizen-USA, Oakland 
Institute-USA, PAN Asia-Pacific, Peoples food sovereignty Network Asia 
Pacific, Q-Bar-Indonesia, REDES-Uruguay, ROOTS for Equity-Pakistan, 
Sintesa-Indonesia, RRAFA-Thailand, Via Campesina-International

NOTES: The G20 is a group of countries with the following members: 
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, 
India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, 
South Africa, Thailand, and Venezuela.

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Chile Peru and Bolivia are 
associated members.

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Matthias Reichl
Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
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