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Argiculture

US cherry-picking MC11 outcomes, holds Members hostage
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 20 November 2017)
The United States continues to cherry-pick outcomes for the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires next month.

US addressing outcome on PSH at MC11
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 10 November 2017)
The United States has begun to address an outcome for the permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security at the upcoming World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires (MC11).

Argentina's desperate effort to avert failure of MC11
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 7 November 2017)
In a desperate attempt to save its "South American" face, and despite a categorical NO from the United States to any outcome on domestic support at the upcoming World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires (MC11), Argentina on Thursday (2 November) issued a draft ministerial decision for further consideration, trade envoys told SUNS.

A new vice-chair, consultations to intensify on organisation of MC11
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 30 October 2017)
With less than seven weeks to go for the eleventh Ministerial Conference of the WTO, the Chair of the General Council, Ambassador Xavier Carim of South Africa, is holding intensified consultations and meetings on the organization of MC11 and the kind of outcome document members would like to see coming out of MC11.

Moves for permanent solution for PSH for MC11 ministers
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 24 October 2017)
With about seven weeks to go for the eleventh Ministerial conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires, attempts appear to be currently under way at the WTO to push the major unresolved issues of the mandated permanent solution for public stockholding (PSH) programs for developing countries to the wire and for trade ministers of major nations to finalise an outcome at MC11.

US NO to Cotton-four, but China-India welcome proposal
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 17 October 2017)
The United States on Friday struck a body blow to the four poorest countries (C-4) - Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad - in West Africa, rejecting their demand for a decision on substantial cuts in cotton subsidies by 70 per cent, at the upcoming World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting (MC11) in Buenos Aires, trade envoys told SUNS.

Consensus eludes trade ministers at Marrakesh
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 16 October 2017)
The just-concluded informal trade ministerial summit in Marrakesh on 10 October brought into sharp focus the linkages between fisheries subsidies and improvements in the Doha trade remedy rules, and between the permanent solution for public stockholding programs and domestic support.

CSOs urge WTO Members to abandon expansionist agenda
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 10 October 2017)
Some 300 civil society organisations (CSOs) from more than 150 countries have raised the alarm that some members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are "pushing a dangerous and inappropriate new agenda" in the run-up to the WTO's eleventh ministerial conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires beginning on 10 December.

"Will not pay for mandated permanent solution for PSH", insist G33
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva , 20 September 2017)
Indonesia, India, China, and other members of the G33 group made clear categorically on Friday (15 September) that they will not pay for the mandated permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security in the developing countries at the upcoming World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires, several trade envoys told SUNS.

Argentina's "authoritarian" MC11 agenda views rile South nations
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 18 September 2017)
Argentina, which is hosting the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires from 10 December, has warned members to drop proposals for MC11, such as the elimination of most trade-distorting domestic subsidies - the Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) - proposed by China and India, on grounds that it will lead to the breakdown of the conference, sources told SUNS.

PSH with several caveats a priority for MC11, says agri-chair
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 11 September 2017)
The chair for Doha agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Stephen Karau of Kenya, has said that the permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security purposes (PSH) in developing countries remains "a priority issue" for the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires beginning on 10 December.

South call for credible results, including on PSH & SSM at MC11
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 27 July 2017)
The developing countries, individually and along with their coalitions on Tuesday called for credible results based on the Doha work program, including the permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security, at the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires in December, trade envoys told SUNS.

Brazil joins hands with EU, strikes death blow to G20
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 19 July 2017)
Brazil has finally struck a death blow to the G20 coalition of developing countries that it had created in 2003 for reforming the global agriculture, after joining hands with its erstwhile foe - the European Union - for tabling a proposal on domestic support. The proposal leaves the two big subsidizers - the United States and the EU - in the industrialized world almost untouched, several trade envoys told SUNS.

South nations for ending AMS, cuts in "green box" in agriculture
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 17 July 2017)
Major developing countries on Wednesday (12 July) called for the elimination of Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) as well as significant reduction commitments of minimally trade-distorting green box programs in the developed countries in the ongoing Doha agriculture negotiations at the World Trade Organization, trade envoys told SUNS.

EU and Brazil oppose end to "green box" cotton payments
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 6 July 2017)
The European Union and Brazil opposed the elimination of a range of green box direct payments for cotton as demanded by the Cotton-4 countries - Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad - in the unresolved Doha agriculture negotiations at the WTO.

Prospects for any Doha agri accords at MC11 bleak
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 29 June 2017)
The African Group of countries, particularly the Cotton-four - Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad - are going to be left high and dry at the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting (MC11) at Buenos Aires in December without any outcomes on their main demands for reducing the domestic support in agriculture by the developed countries, sources told SUNS.

South stress food security and SSM outcomes at MC11
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 7 June 2017)
A number of developing countries, at dedicated sessions of the WTO agriculture negotiations last week, stressed on the importance of a permanent solution for public stockholding programmes for food security as well as an effective Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), and for meaningful outcomes on these issues at the eleventh WTO ministerial conference in Buenos Aires this December.

Permanent solution for PSH seems unlikely at MC11
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 1 June 2017)
Major developed nations, and some of their allies in the South are refusing to engage in substantive discussions on the mandated permanent solution for public stockholding programmes for food security, and a successful outcome is unlikely at the WTO's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires in December.

Positions unchanged on public stockholding, SSM, HOD told
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 10 May 2017)
An informal Heads of Delegation meeting at the World Trade Organization on Monday showed that members remain sharply divided on the key issues and possible deliverables at MC11 in Buenos Aires, with a large majority of developing countries insisting that the focus should be based on the Doha Work Programme and Nairobi Ministerial decisions, and not on any new issues like E-commerce or investment facilitation.

G33 insist on unambiguous outcomes at MC11 on food security
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 28 April 2017)
Developing countries with hundreds of millions of resource poor and livelihood farmers face a do-or-die battle, ahead of the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires later this year, to secure a permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security and a simple and effective special safeguard mechanism, trade envoys told SUNS.

Kenya's Karau to chair agriculture negotiations
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 7 April 2017)
An informal meeting of the General Council on Friday (7 April) is expected to formally adopt the appointment of Ambassador Stephen Ndung'u Karau of Kenya as the new chair of the Doha agriculture negotiating body.

Prospects for credible outcomes at Buenos Aires bleak
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 31 March 2017)
Efforts are currently underway to nominate Kenya's trade envoy Ambassador Stephen Ndung'u Karau as the chair of the Doha agriculture negotiating body, with the African Group, at the behest of some powerful developed and South American countries, apparently asking Ambassador Karau to chair the Special Session on agriculture to break the current impasse.

PSH must cover all DCs, not country-specific
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 21 March 2017)
The G33 farm coalition led by Indonesia has called for a permanent solution for public stockholding programs to address the concerns of all developing countries, instead of any one country-specific solution, at the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting (MC11) in Buenos Aires later this year, trade envoys told SUNS.

South stress on public stockholding, SSM, S&D, development
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 27 February 2017)
Many developing countries stressed the importance of outcomes, amongst others, on the issues of public stockholding for food security purposes and on the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) at MC11 in Buenos Aires later this year.

CSOs urge WTO DG to advance development mandate, not 'new issues'
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 13 February 2017)
Over 80 Indian civil society organisations (CSOs) called on WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo to advance the development mandate of the WTO negotiations especially on key issues in agriculture, instead of his current push for agreements on e-commerce and investment.

DG Azevedo rebuked by India over "value-loaded" statements
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 8 February 2017)
India sharply rebuked on Monday (6 February) the World Trade Organization director-general Roberto Azevedo over his assessment that there were "wide divergences" on special safeguard mechanism (SSM) in the run-up to the Nairobi ministerial meeting in December 2015, trade envoys told SUNS.

LDCs push for concrete outcomes at MC11 on agri domestic support
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 23 January 2017)
Despite the uncertainty and unpredictability induced by the new Trump administration's unilateral demands in global trade, the least-developed countries have raised the antennae for concrete outcomes for reducing trade-distorting domestic support at the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires later this year.

 


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