PRESENTATION ON

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• PRESENTATION ON
• AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE (AoA)
• AT THE PRE-HONG KONG
• GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM
• DHAKA

BY Mr. Buba Khan Food Rights Campaign Coordinator
Action International -GAMBIA
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INTRODUCTION

• Agriculture is the core of many African
  economies.
  
• It accounts for more than 30 of the Gross
  Domestic Product (GDP)
  
• Employs more than 60 of the labor force
• Represents a major source of foreign exchange
  supplies the bulk of basic food
  
• Provides subsistence and income for a large
  percentage of the rural populations.
  

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• Thus, significant progress in promoting economic
  growth, reducing poverty and enhancing food
  security, cannot be achieved in most African
  countries and indeed LDCs without fully
  developing the productive capacity of the
  agricultural sector. Therefore, the WTO AoA and
  the mandated negotiations under the agreement are
  of great importance to African countries.

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• AoAs approach to agriculture
• Is based on the ideology of trade
  liberalization.
  
• It entrenches the right to export rather than
  human rights which does not guarantee
  improvements in peoples livelihoods.
  
• It benefits the privileged minority that have
  access to resources, infrastructure, credit and
  foreign markets.
  
• Aims to address dumping by decreasing state
  subsidies that affect production and prices, but
  it does not stop dumping for a number of reasons
  
• The complex box system enables developed
  countries to keep a large portion of their state
  subsidies (Juggling between boxes)

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• AoA rules do not address the root causes of
  dumping, namely excess production and the market
  power of corporations
  
• Locks developing countries into and unleveled
  playing field. Since the 1980s WB and IMF
  structural adjustment programs have pressured
  developing countries to reduce most of their
  trade barriers (No domestic price controls, and
  little possibility to provide subsidies due to
  their limited resources). On the other hand
  developed countries are not subject to WB IMF
  liberalization requirements.

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• Some of the issues of great concern to Action Aid
  during this critical moment of establishing
  modalities include

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Balancing the 3 Pillars

• Pressure seems to be mounting on member states to
  reach a compromise/deal on technical issues to
  facilitate development of first approximation
  by then July and now October. Towards this end,
  too much emphasis has been placed on market
  access while no indication at all of when and how
  export subsidies would eventually be eliminated.

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Balancing the 3 Pillars continues.

• Overall, Action Aid International feels that the
  Doha Mandate has been watered down and
  establishment of a balanced approach between and
  within the three pillars has been lost. It is
  apparent that developed countries have very high
  ambitions on market access, yet there is no
  political will on their part to ensure the same
  level of ambition to eliminate export subsidies
  and substantially reduce domestic support. If
  anything some developed countries are trying to
  legalise their national reforms through a
  multilateral framework.

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Past Unilateral Reforms

• By comparison developing countries have for the
  past two decades undertaken far reaching reforms,
  either unilaterally as a condition to accessing
  the IMF/WB funds or through the structural
  adjustment programmes that paved way for
  deepening trade liberalization in these
  countries.

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Past Unilateral Reforms cont.

• Failure by developed countries to recognize and
  factor into the current negotiations, past
  reforms already undertaken by developing
  countries signifies the lack of commitment to
  integrate development concerns in the current
  talks. Action Aid International is indeed
  concerned that developing countries have
  undoubtedly paid far too much, through arm
  twisting, and should not be expected to undertake
  further trade liberalization during this round of
  negotiations.

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Special and Differential Treatment (SDT)

• Doha mandate provides that SDT shall be an
  integral part of all elements of negotiations.
  
• While on one hand the term "policy space" has
  been used variably to refer to aspects such as
  tariffs (cf. water in the tariff) and the
  rules/regulations, on the other hand flexibility
  has been taken to refer to enablement, taking due
  consideration of the prevailing conditions and
  circumstances facing some members

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(SDT) cont..

• Accordingly, the unfavourable rule should
  definitely be removed and replaced by an
  appropriate one. The way SDT has been perceived
  in the on-going negotiations shows an outright
  inclination towards provision of some flexibility
  and not the much required policy space. The
  flexibility within SDT is used only as a
  transitory measure (e.g. longer implementation
  period for developing countries etc).

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SDT) cont..

• Accordingly, SDT for poor developing countries
  should embrace simultaneously the application of
  both terms while designing concrete and
  operationally effective SDT. This should be
  treated with utmost importance and the urgency so
  required.

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(SDT) cont..

• Notwithstanding the above, it is not so clear who
  is giving who SDT. The July Framework maintains
  SSG as a subject to be negotiated further.
  Continued access to SSG (AoA, Article 5) by most
  developed countries is apparently not discussed,
  nor seen within the context of SDT. This needs to
  be clarified under the current negotiations..

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(SDT) cont..

• The July Framework has brought in many other
  aspects of SDT in favour of developed countries
  e.g. sensitive products, expansion of blue box to
  accommodate USA counter cyclical payments etc.
  Action Aid International contends that policy
  space and some latitude of flexibility is
  essential to enable poor developing countries
  pursue their national development plans and
  programmes

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Preferences

• Preferences play an important role in the
  economies of most developing countries and if
  improved through contractual agreements (e.g. of
  EBA type), and addressing rules of origin issues
  among other non-tariff barriers and measures
  could lift the growth in LDC and other developing
  countries.

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Domestic Support

• It should be noted that poor developing
  countries require much more than ever before,
  support in form of substantial government
  financed programmes to enable them achieve their
  development targets as defined under Millennium
  Development Goals (MDG), in addition to
  nurturing, stimulating and protecting their
  agricultural sectors to blossom.

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Domestic Support cont.

• Positive developments in the market access
  negotiations such as special product concept
  could bear much fruits if accompanied by
  government support and commitment. To be able to
  achieve this, there is need to take cognisance of
  the structural difficulties, prevailing
  circumstances and conditions in poor developing
  countries in order to address food security,
  livelihood concerns and rural development.

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Domestic Support cont.

• Consequently, developing countries should not be
  under any obligation to reduce their de minimis
  support category under domestic support
  negotiations.

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Green Box Blue Box

• Action Aid International calls for review of this
  category of support with a view of disciplining
  and clarifying certain support measures with
  potential distorting effect on trade and
  production.
• For the blue box to be a genuine tool for reform
  it should be subject to disciplines that
  guarantee that it is less trade distorting.

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Export Competition

• Elimination of Export Subsidies A credible end
  date should be set for all forms of export
  subsidies. In addition, Action Aid International
  contends that until developed countries show
  concrete commitment to substantially reduce their
  trade distorting export subsidies and other
  domestic subsidies, developing countries should
  not be pressured to undertake reduction
  commitments.

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Food Aid

• Action Aid International condemns the abuse of
  food aid as a means for the disposal of
  surpluses. AAI argues that this is unethical and
  in most cases leads to inappropriate composition
  of food rations (i.e. eat GMOs or starve tactic
  employed by some donors).
• New disciplines on food aid should take into
  consideration, the special needs of African
  countries and other net food importing developing
  countries. A clear definition of genuine food aid
  (humanitarian or development food aid) should be
  ensured.

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• Emergency food aid must be appropriate,
  accessible and affordable to hungry people,
  irrespective of class, gender or generation. Food
  aid should address peoples needs without
  disturbing food production systems.
• The choice between food aid and cash based
  responses must be based on an understanding of
  markets and food supplies. Greater use of cash
  must be made where possible and appropriate.
  Distribution of food aid should be avoided where
  food is readily available and local markets are
  functioning. The effectiveness of food aid shall
  be judged by its ability to properly link
  emergency relief to rehabilitation and not by the
  amount/tonnage delivered

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Conclusion

• CSO in Africa also met and drafted a declaration
  and they are emphatic about their stance in both
  the content and modalities of negotiation as they
  defend the poor disadvantaged. Under the AoA
  they
• Demand that African countries must not undertake
  any further reductions in their Tariffs for
  agricultural products and must not also bind
  their tariffs at the current levels.

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• That they must have the rights to use measures to
  further strengthen their ability to protect their
  domestic producers as deemed necessary, including
  the special safeguard mechanism and the right to
  designate special products
• That the developed countries must eliminate all
  their subsidies which enable them to dump
  artificially cheap products in our markets and in
  global markets and devastate our economies.

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• That the ongoing negotiations are not transparent
  and they are undemocratic and processes being
  used as mini-ministerials and meetings of small
  groups of countries from which African countries
  are excluded
• Further more they recognize the divide and rule
  tactics of the developed countries poised to
  neutralize the positions of African countries (LD
  and developing countries) to undermine their
  unity as it were in Cancun and they further urge
  the governments to strengthen their unity and
  build upon their existing allies.

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• As a way of concluding, it would be very
  important for developed countries to rethink
  their negotiating mandate while keeping in mind
  the need to ensure that concrete development
  agenda hold centre stage during this modalities
  stage. Without an integration of concrete
  development ingredients in the current trade
  talks including recognition of past reforms
  undertaken by poor developing countries and, a
  practical commitment to eliminate trade
  distorting subsidies by a given end date, poor
  developing countries MUST NOT accept to undertake
  any further commitments whether in Agriculture,
  NAMA or Services.

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• THANK YOU FOR YOUR
• KIND
• ATTENTION