WTO Agreement on Agriculture: What’s it all about? What should be our advocacy?

What is the AoA? Part of GATT Uruguay Round agreements It is a new area of coverage 3 Elements or Main Pillars: 1. Increased Market Access 2. Reduction of Domestic Support 3. Elimination of Agricultural Subsidies

What is Increased Market Access? Reduction and elimination of tariffs Removal of quantitative restrictions, e.g. import quotas and replacement with tariffs

What is reduction of Domestic Support? Domestic support are subsidies given by government to agricultural producers either to: - boost production - influence prices - ensure food security

What is Elimination of Export Subsidies? Export subsidies are price support subsidies given to agricultural exporters to be able to compete in the global market. Only the rich developed countries practice this. Main beneficiary are the large agricultural TNCs (e.g. Cargill, Monsanto, etc.)

Why Reduce and Eliminate SUBSIDIES? They are “trade-distorting”. Artificially reducing world prices way below actual costs of production. Unfair competition for developing countries because they don’t have export subsidies and have very little domestic support for their farmers.

But the rich countries got exemptions! Through several boxes called amber box, blue box, green box While the South were forced to lower tariffs, eliminate their import quotas, and also reduce domestic support, the North continued to give their TNC giants domestic and export subsidies using the various exemptions.

What is the result after ten years? Domestic markets of the South were flooded with cheap agricultural imports/surpluses of the North Food imports by developing countries grew by 115 per cent between 1970 and 2001, transforming their combined food trade surplus of $1bn in 1970 into a deficit of more than $11bn.

What is the result after ten years? Subsidies by the North continue to rise despite the AoA objective of reducing and eliminating subsidies. Both the US and EU have retained and even increased their annual farm subsidies to the tune of USD billion each.

Developing countries cried foul! Agriculture has become a very contentious issue in the WTO. Hence, the collapse of Seattle talks in 1998 and later again in Cancun in Formation of G20, G33 developing country groupings Peasant resistance: “Agriculture Out of the WTO!”

What is at stake in the Doha Round agriculture negotiations? On market access – conversion of specific and fixed duties to their ad valorem equivalents (tariff rates based on value of imports); elimination of tariff peaks and tariff escalation; identification of sensitive products; identification of Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanisms fo dev’ping countries.

What is at stake in the Doha Round agriculture negotiations? A deadline for the complete elimination of export subsidies (G20 wants 5-year deadline; still to be negotiated) A substantive reduction of the North’s domestic support - but the July Framework even expanded the blue box to accommodate US exemptions!

Agricultural Trade Lib: Impact on Gender 50% or more of farm employment are women working as unpaid family workers or seasonal waged workers Female work in agriculture not recognized by official statistics Women property rights on land not recognized Women have no access to credit

Agricultural Trade Lib: Impact on Gender Loss of farm livelihoods due to unfair competition with cheap imported products and lack of domestic support from government Loss of food security at the national and household levels >Loss of household food security worsens the women’s reproductive burden. Tendency for women to migrate to urban areas or overseas in search of jobs.

Agricultural Trade Lib: Impact on Gender Export-intensive production may generate high demands for female labor but paid returns to labor is minimal aside from exploitative work conditions. Export-intensive production is detrimental to food security and environmental sustainability.

What should be our advocacy? Fight for small farmers’ livelihoods. Fight for our food security. Fight for women farmers’ access to land, credit and other productive means.

What should be our advocacy? How? Protect our domestic market from import dumping and import surges. Down with the North’s obscene subsidy regime! Support development of the South’s local agriculture. We need subsidies for our farmers! Implement genuine land reform! Recognize women’s rights to land and access to credit and other productive resources.

What should be our advocacy? Multi-level advocacy work: - National: pressuring our own governments to reverse previous unilateral trade lib policies. - WTO: pressuring South governments to fight it out with the North. - Ultimately to derail the WTO talks and its agenda of further trade liberalization!

What should be our advocacy? In engaging both national and WTO trade policies and processes, Don’t forget the most important thing: GRASSROOTS organizing, political education and EMPOWERMENT. “Many thinkers have interpreted the world in many ways, the problem is to change it.” And it is mainly in the hands of the masses that real change can come about!