Ministry of Agriculture, Food Technology and Natural Resources
Mauritius 31 May 2001

Press release (Final)

Link to the papers

Second International Conference on Non-Trade Concerns

Securing the coexistence of various types of agriculture in the context of the multilateral system

In the ongoing WTO agricultural negotiations, non-trade concerns are of vital importance to both developing and developed countries. WTO Members are committed to strengthening the multilateral agricultural trading system through the continuation of the reform process under Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture. In this context we underline that a one-size-fits-all approach will not be appropriate to address such concerns because it would not sufficiently take into account the diversity of country situations. How to address these non-trade concerns in concrete ways was discussed at the Second International Conference on Non-Trade Concerns in Agriculture attended by senior officials from 42 WTO Members and Observers, which was held in Mauritius from 28 ^th> to 31 ^st> May, 2001.
The conference was organised by the European Commission and the governments of Japan, Mauritius, Norway, the Republic of Korea and Switzerland, and attended by another thirty-six Members and Observers comprising developed countries, economies in transition, custom territories and developing countries including least-developed countries, land-locked countries and small island developing states, all of whom have a keen interest in securing their systems of agriculture in the context of the multilateral trading system.

As the agriculture negotiations at the WTO progress in their second phase, participants discussed in particular the policy measures and instruments to achieve their non-trade objectives building on the outcome of the first NTC Conference held in Ullensvang, Norway in July 2000. They focused on three main concerns that are common to most countries and economies, namely rural development, food security and protection of the environment.

On rural development, participants discussed a number of possible instruments, in recognition that while the priorities of various countries are diverse, all the countries need to preserve or develop the economic and social environment necessary to maintain rural population. Agricultural activity plays a central role in this endeavour.

On food security, it was recognised that all countries have to ensure food security for their people, through domestic production, stockholding and imports.
On environment various means were considered to better accommodate policies meeting legitimate environmental non-trade concerns. All countries had such concerns and recognised the importance of agriculture in that respect. Conservation of biological diversity, maintenance of farmed landscapes, and protection against disasters were recognised as examples of environmental non-trade concerns.
It was underlined that non-trade concerns would not be satisfied through the market only since public goods will not generally be provided through the market. It was also recognised that protecting NTCs calls for resources and that, for vulnerable developing countries, including least developed countries, land-locked countries, small island developing states and vulnerable economies in transition, preferential market access is a key means to obtaining these resources.
Discussion further revealed that these non-trade concerns cannot be adequately addressed without domestic agricultural production. The coexistence of various types of agriculture, based on each county’s specific production conditions and potential and historical and cultural background, is therefore required in order to pursue non-trade objectives in both high- and low- potential areas.
Participants underlined the diversity of situations both with respect to their priorities and production conditions, but shared their genuine interest in safeguarding NTCs and the need for the multilateral trading system to accommodate such concerns through a variety of instruments. They will actively participate in the process of WTO agricultural negotiations, building on the discussion they have had in this Conference