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The current "Doha Development Agenda" of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO was launched during the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference at Doha, Qatar in November 2001. The Doha negotiations incorporated negotiations already underway on agriculture and services. Agriculture and services were the only areas where negotiations on further trade liberalization had been mandated in the Uruguay Round WTO Agreements (see Agreement on Agriculture: General Issues).
The Doha Ministerial Declaration sets
out the basic mandate for the negotiations. With over three quarters of WTO
members identifying themselves as developing countries, the Doha Declaration
gives developing country issues a high priority in the negotiations. This is
reflected in the decision to refer to the negotiations as the Doha Development
Agenda and by members committing themselves to addressing the interests and
concerns of developing countries—especially the least developed countries (LDCs)—in the multilateral trading system. The Doha Declaration also states that "special and differential treatment for developing countries shall be an integral part of all elements of the negotiations."
The main objectives for agriculture found in the Doha Declaration are for "substantial improvements in market access; reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies; and substantial reductions in trade distorting domestic support." Members also agreed to "take note of the non-trade concerns reflected in the negotiating proposals submitted by members and confirm that non-trade concerns will be taken into account in the negotiations as provided for in the Agreement on Agriculture." Most countries accept that agriculture has functions other than producing food and fiber—non-trade concerns—such as food security, environmental protection, structural adjustment, rural development, poverty alleviation, and animal welfare. Non-trade concerns have not received much attention in the Doha negotiations, as countries have concentrated on negotiating cuts in tariffs, domestic support, and export subsidies, while providing for the special and differential needs of developing countries.
In addition to the Doha Ministerial Declaration, two other key Doha documents track progress in agricultural negotiations:
- The General Council Decision of August 1, 2004—also called the "July Package"—provides a framework for "modalities," broad outlines or formulas for reducing import barriers, export subsidies, and domestic support in the final agreement in agriculture.
- The Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration of December 2005 includes preliminary agreements on several issues in the agricultural negotiations. In the area of market access, this includes progress on establishing ad valorem tariff equivalents on which cuts will be based; adopting four tariff bands that would subject higher tariffs to larger cuts; accepting the criteria to select certain products ("Special Products") for reduced tariff cuts by developing countries; and agreement by developed countries to extend duty- and quota-free market access for most products originating from LDCs. The Declaration also documents the agreement to end export subsidies in agriculture by 2013.
For information on the status of the negotiations and other details, see WTO’s Doha Development Agenda: Negotiations, Implementation and Development.
For general information on agriculture and the WTO, see:
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