Further WTO-negotiations on Agriculture - Article 20 of The Agreement on Agriculture

Note by the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture

Further WTO negotiations on agriculture are mandated by Article 20 of the

Agreement on Agriculture. This note presents some reflections on the

implications of this Article.

Article 20 reads as follows:

Through Article 20, WTO Members are all committed to initiate

negotiations for continuing the reform process that begun in Punta del Este

in 1986. As referred to in the Article, the Preamble of the Agreement states

that substantial progressive reductions in support and protection

resulting in fundamental reform is the long-term objective of the reform

process. However, Article 20 spells out several conditions that must be

taken into account in the reform process, including so-called non-trade

concerns, explained in the Preamble of the Agreement as, inter alia, food

security and the need to protect the environment.

Three important comments can be made regarding Article 20. First, with

respect to the long-term objective, the actual size of the reductions is not

quantified and will therefore be subject to negotiations and contingent

upon the conditions spelled out in the Article and mentioned above. The

term substantial is far from precise; according to The New Shorter Oxford

Dictionary, substantial could mean fairly large or sizeable. It also has the

meaning having solid worth or value, of real significance, i.e. a real

reduction that is not fictive, without prejudging the size of the reduction.

Anyway, it is clear that a substantial reduction signifies by no means an

elimination of agricultural subsidies.

Second, according to the Article, the upcoming negotiations are expected

to continue and not necessarily finalise the reform process. The realisation

of the long-term objective may thus go far beyond the upcoming

negotiations for which only a first step may be taken, depending on various

factors and conditions.

Third, the non-trade concerns are crucial elements of the agricultural sector

in several countries and include also the viability of rural areas. During the

Uruguay Round, Norway stressed specifically in a separate statement the

importance attached to non-trade concerns. These concerns "are central

elements in our agricultural policies and extend not only to food security,

but comprise also elements such as environment, regional policies and

social aspects. Within a broader context they are vital to us." Norway's

continued participation in the Uruguay Round was based on this

statement.

Norway fully endorses the March 1998 Communiqué of the OECD

Agriculture Ministers which, with respect to Article 20, recommended that

the long-term objective of substantial reductions should be "in conformity

with the conditions of Article 20 of the UR Agreement on Agriculture, and

including all the elements contained therein" (our underlining). Non-trade

concerns are one of these elements.

Through the concept of multifunctionality, recent OECD meetings have

paid ample attention to non-trade concerns. Moreover, the Rome

Declaration of the World Food Summit stressed the importance of food

production also in low potential areas, and it goes without saying that such

production in some countries will depend on considerable levels of support

and protection.

As a conclusion, the challenge in the upcoming negotiations will consist of

taking the non-trade concerns fully into account in the multilateral reform

process, while maintaining a fair trading system and safeguarding the

interests of developing countries. Whereas the aim would be to take

another step in the direction of reduced levels of global support, the reform

process cannot jeopardise vital non-trade concerns as food security,

environmental protection and rural and social concerns related to the

multifunctional agriculture.