 Agriculture has taken center stage in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations. Failure of countries to find common ground on agricultural issues was a key factor in the July 2006 suspension of negotiations. The United States, as a major agricultural trader, has a large stake in the outcome of these talks. The ERS program of research on WTO agricultural issues has contributed to improved understanding of what’s at stake in the Doha Round.
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Countries Stand To Gain from Further Trade Liberalization
Global Agriculture and the Doha Round: Market Access Is the Key. Increasing market access by lowering tariffs would produce the greatest share of benefits from trade liberalization in the United States and worldwide. Despite these benefits, high agricultural tariffs remain a sticking point in the Doha Round.
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| Trade Barriers and Subsidies Impose High Costs
The Road Ahead: Agricultural Policy Reform in the WTO. Agricultural trade barriers and producer subsidies inflict real costs on the world economy. ERS research has helped to clarify the extent of tariff protection and other barriers to trade, the changing nature of subsidies, and the costs of protection.
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| Tariffs Vary by Countries and Commodities
Profiles of Tariffs in Global Agricultural Markets. ERS research has helped to clarify the extent of protection through analyses of tariff data. This report provides the first comprehensive analysis of agricultural tariffs and tariff-rate quotas (limits on imported goods) and finds that high average tariffs create barriers to markets for U.S. farmers and those in developed and developing countries.
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 Agricultural Trade Preferences and the Developing Countries. Trade preference programs provide tariff concessions for low-income countries. ERS found that the programs offer significant benefits mostly for the higher income developing countries, but that benefits in the least developed countries have been modest.
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| How Have Countries Complied with their WTO Commitments on Agriculture?
WTO Agricultural Trade Policy Commitments Database. WTO members established rules and disciplines in the Agreement on Agriculture, governing three key areas of agricultural trade policy: domestic support, export subsidies, and market access. This database contains data on how WTO members have implemented their commitments to reform in agricultural policy.
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In addition to the products described above, further information and analysis relating to agriculture in the WTO is available in the ERS WTO Briefing Room.
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