The current Doha Development Agend 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 talks 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."
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 establishingad 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.
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. These
non-trade concerns are an additional consideration as countries
seek to negotiate cuts in tariffs, domestic support, and export
subsidies, while providing for the special and differential needs
of developing countries.
In the area of market access, WTO members have agreed that
tariff reductions will be made through a tiered tariff-cutting
formula that takes into account their different tariff structures.
Each country's tariffs will be categorized into four tiers based on
the height of each tariff, with each tier subject to a different
percentage reduction. The overall objective of the tiered formula
is to achieve a degree of harmonization of tariff structures across
countries and products. This will be achieved through progressively
deeper cuts on those tiers containing higher tariffs, with
flexibilities for members to designate a limited number of
Sensitive Products. Sensitive Products will be subject to lower
reduction commitments, but with some additional TRQ commitments
required to assure that substantial improvements in market access
will be achieved for all products.
Concerning "special and differential treatment for
developing countries," there is agreement that developing
countries' tariffs will be subject to lesser cuts than developed
countries' tariffs and they will be given more time to implement
these cuts. There is also agreement that developing countries will
be able to designate a limited number of products as Special
Products, which would be subject to either no or lesser tariff
cuts.
As with market access, negotiators in the Doha talks have agreed
that there will be an element of harmonization in the reductions to
be made in trade-distorting domestic support by developed
countries. Specifically, countries with higher levels of permitted
amber box trade-distorting domestic support will be subject to
deeper cuts. In a departure from the AoA commitments, blue box
expenditures will be capped and, along with de minimissupport,
reduced. Amber box, blue box, and de minimis policies will
be aggregated together, named
Overall Trade-Distorting Domestic Support (OTDS), and subject
to cuts.
As for special and differential treatment for developing
countries, there is agreement to provide developing countries with
longer implementation periods and lower reduction coefficients for
all types of trade-distorting domestic support.
Regarding export subsidies, the Doha negotiations have expanded
the definition to include other export competition policies
including export credits, food aid, and export state trading
enterprises (STEs). WTO members have agreed to ensure the parallel
elimination of direct export subsidies and imposition of
disciplines on export credits, food aid policies, and STEs.
For information on the status of the negotiations and other
details, see WTO's Doha Development Agenda: Negotiations,
Implementation and Development.