TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May16/04)
4 May 2016
Third World Network
Azevedo pressure on members to amend export subsidy schedules
Published in SUNS #8233 dated 2 May 2016
Geneva, 29 Apr (D. Ravi Kanth) -- The World Trade Organization Director-General
Roberto Azevedo, in closed-door, one-on-one meetings with 16 countries,
has been attempting to persuade and drive home his message that they
must amend their schedules on agriculture export subsidy commitments
as agreed at the tenth ministerial conference in Nairobi, Kenya, over
four months ago, according to trade envoys.
These initiatives of the WTO chief, on just one of the Nairobi Ministerial
Decisions (NMD), have raised "systemic" concerns, several
trade envoys told the SUNS.
Although the Nairobi ministerial decision on export subsidies doesn't
say that members have to amend their schedules, the Director-General
is creating an unusual situation in which he is asking those countries
that have scheduled commitments on export subsidies to amend their
schedules in which export subsidy entitlements are brought to zero,
according to a trade envoy, who asked not to be quoted.
[In a comment on the export subsidy schedules' modification issue,
Chakravarthi Raghavan, Editor-Emeritus of the SUNS, notes that in
1994, when the Uruguay Round talks were concluded, and the WTO treaty
was signed at Marrakesh, as a part of it, members were required to
submit schedules of their export reduction commitments (volume and
value) over the 6-year reform period beginning in 1995, and these
were multilaterally scrutinised before incorporation to become an
integral part of the WTO accords, and made a binding multilateral
commitment of the member concerned.
[The modification of the export subsidy commitments in accord with
the Nairobi Ministerial Decisions (NMD) has to be in respect of these
commitments. Unlike specific provisions in the GATT for modifications
of tariff schedule commitments, and procedures laid down for such
modifications, there are no analogous provisions in the Agreement
on Agriculture (AoA). And while in terms of the GATT, members can
voluntarily reduce their tariffs and file reduced "commitments",
there have been some questions as to whether these can be effected
under the AoA, as a binding multilateral commitment by the member
on its own, in the absence of a specific protocol incorporating the
results of the NMD into the WTO framework.
[As in the case of "applied tariffs" on imports of goods,
Members can no doubt voluntarily act on their own in reducing or ending
their export subsidies to effectuate NMD decisions. However, it is
difficult to see how they can be made to do so (in terms of the DG's
efforts) or for that matter under what AoA provision? - SUNS]
The Nairobi ministerial decision on export subsidies says in paragraph
six: "Developed Members shall immediately eliminate their remaining
scheduled export subsidy entitlements as of the date of adoption of
this Decision."
Further, the Nairobi decision on the elimination of export subsidies
is clarified in footnotes three and four:
"Fn. 3 -- This paragraph shall not cover quantities counted against
export subsidy reduction commitments found to exist by the Dispute
Settlement Body in its recommendations and rulings adopted in disputes
DS265, DS266, and DS283, with respect to the existing programme, which
expires on 30 September 2017, for the product concerned by those disputes.
"Fn. 4 -- This paragraph shall not cover processed products,
dairy products, and swine meat of a developed Member that agrees to
eliminate as of 1 January 2016 all export subsidies on products destined
for least developed countries, and that has notified export subsidies
for such products or categories of products in one of its three latest
export subsidy notifications examined by the Committee on Agriculture
before the date of adoption of this Decision. For these products,
scheduled export subsidies shall be eliminated by the end of 2020,
and quantity commitment levels shall be applied as a standstill until
the end of 2020 at the actual average of quantity levels of the 2003-05
base period. Furthermore, there shall be no export subsidies applied
either to new markets or to new products."
As regards the developing countries, the NMD says in paragraph seven
that, "Developing country Members shall eliminate their export
subsidy entitlements by the end of 2018. And it is further clarified
in footnote five that they can eliminate the export subsidies by 2022
due to Article 9.4 of the Agreement on Agriculture."
The moot issue is, "Why is the DG not adopting the same course
on other issues that are there in the Nairobi or Bali ministerial
decisions?" the envoy asked.
And "why is he hosting closed-door meetings instead of convening
a Room W meeting for the sake of transparency?" the envoy added.
"What about the market access decision on cotton and why can't
they be included in the scheduled commitments of members," asked
another South American envoy.
The Nairobi ministerial decision on cotton market access says, "developed
country members, and developing country members declaring themselves
in a position to do so, shall grant, to the extent provided for in
their respective preferential trade agreements in favour of LDCs,
as from 1 January 2016, duty-free and quota-free market access for
cotton produced and exported by LDCs."
It further says in paragraph four on cotton market access that, "developed
country members, and developing country members declaring themselves
in a position to do so, shall grant, to the extent provided for in
their respective preferential trade arrangements in favour of LDCs,
as from 1 January 2016, duty-free and quota-free market access for
exports by LDCs of relevant cotton-related products included in the
list annexed to this Decision and covered by Annex 1 of the Agreement
on Agriculture."
Clearly, these two decisions on cotton market access can also be included
in the scheduled commitments, but the Director-General has not raised
this, the envoy said.
"Why did not the DG hold meetings with members to include the
Bali decision as well as the modified decision on public stockholding
programs for food security in the schedules," asked another African
envoy.
India had already raised the issue at the last meeting of the Doha
negotiating committee on agriculture saying that all ministerial decisions
pertaining to Bali and Nairobi must be included in the schedule instead
of only export subsidies, according to negotiators familiar with the
meeting.
The Director-General must address these issues in an open forum instead
of holding unusual closed-door room meetings, the envoy said. "Otherwise,
they raise systemic issues," the envoy suggested.
Meanwhile, the chair for the Doha agriculture negotiations, Ambassador
Vangelis Vitalis of New Zealand, told trade envoys of the informal
group of developing countries on Thursday (April 28) that an overwhelming
majority of countries want domestic support to be addressed on a strong
footing, according to an envoy present at the meeting.
Ambassador Vitalis, who held some 50 bilateral meetings, said many
major developed and developing countries have not notified their latest
domestic support programs, the envoy said.
Around 24 members have to notify their latest domestic support payments,
and the 24 include the US, China, India, and several other countries,
the envoy suggested.
The least-developed and African groups have urged the chair to accelerate
the negotiations on domestic support.
The chair is due to hold dedicated sessions on May 9th and 10th on
the special safeguard mechanism and the permanent solution for public
stockholding programs for food security. +
