Agriculture Negotiations at the WTO: Context Setting and Intelligence Report
Preparatory work for agriculture negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) commenced in early 2000. However, rather than actually negotiating further liberalisation of world agricultural markets, Members are still putting forward their initial negotiating goals. This report intends to:
• provide explicit detail on the political tone surrounding the WTO agricultural reform process;
• provide analyses on those proposals which have been submitted and discussed from the beginning of the Special Session on Agriculture to the end of the third meeting in September 2000 (brief references are also included to proposals submitted and in the November meeting of the Special Session);
• provide an early assessment on the positions of the major negotiating blocs as they pertain to domestic support;
• underscore the concerns of developing countries in the preparatory context; and To facilitate these objectives, the report has been subdivided into seven main components:
• Section II: Background. This section provides the basic context for the negotiations.
• Section III: Content and State of Play of Current Negotiations. This section provides a more detailed view of the negotiating process and issues.
• Section IV: Proposal and Submission Analysis. This section provides a detailed analysis of the proposals submitted to date in the context of the negotiations and of the relative views of trading partners.
• Section V: The Process of the Negotiations. This section provides a view of the negotiating process in its lager context related to a round of negotiations and to other WTO issues and political events outside of the trade system.
• Section VI: The Work Ahead. This section briefly presents an approach that may be of interest for future reports.
• Section VII and VIII: Civil Society Monitor and Proposal appendices. The Civil Society Monitor reviews selected civil society activities during the past months. The Proposal appendix provides a quick reference to proposals tabled in the Special Session.