Overview
The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) marked
a turning point in the history of the multilateral trading
system by subjecting agricultural trade to essentially
the same rules that discipline trade in industrial goods.
For the first time, WTO members committed to reducing
agricultural tariffs, export subsidies, and trade-distorting
domestic support. The latest round of WTO trade negotiations,
launched in the Qatari capital of Doha in November 2001,
are the most ambitious attempt ever to spur global economic
growth by liberalizing trade in agricultural and non-agricultural
goods as well as freeing up trade in services.
In launching the Doha negotiations, WTO members recognized
the contribution of the multilateral trading system to
economic growth and development and pledged to continue
the process of reform and liberalization of economic policies.
The Doha
Ministerial Declaration placed the interests of developing
countries, who constitute the majority of WTO members,
at the heart of negotiations, adding a new dimension to
the talks that increased both the potential gains and
the complexity of reaching agreement. More
overview...
Features
World Trade Organization and Globalization Help Facilitate Growth in Agricultural Trade (June 2008). Despite strong criticism of the WTO, membership in the organization continues to grow. WTO member countries trade concessions to gain access to foreign markets, benefiting producers and consumers in the aggregate. The growth of the WTO has helped facilitate the globalization of agriculture.
Global
Agriculture and the Doha Round: Market Access Is the Key (September 2006).
Increasing market access by lowering tariffs has been
shown to produce the greatest share of benefits from agricultural
trade liberalization. Nonetheless, reducing high agricultural
tariffs remains a sticking point in the Doha Round of
trade talks.
Recommended Readings
Agricultural Trade Preferences
and the Developing Countries (May 2005). Nonreciprocal trade
preference programs originated in the 1970s as an effort
by high-income developed countries to provide tariff concessions
for low-income countries. This study focuses on the United
States and European Union and finds that the programs
offer significant benefits for some countries, mostly
the higher income developing countries.
Relaxing
Fruit and Vegetable Planting Restrictions (February 2007). Participants
in U.S. farm programs are restricted from planting and
harvesting fruits and most vegetables on base acreage.
However, a recent WTO challenge to U.S. programs has created
pressure to eliminate planting restrictions. Although
eliminating restrictions would not lead to substantial
market impacts for most fruit or vegetables, the effects
on individual producers could be significant.
For the full report, see Eliminating
Fruit and Vegetable Planting Restrictions: How Would Markets
be Affected? (November 2006).
The Road Ahead: Agricultural
Policy Reform in the WTO—Summary Report (January 2001). Agricultural
trade barriers and producer subsidies inflict real costs
on the countries that use these policies and on their
trade partners. If trade negotiations resulted in full
elimination of agricultural price-distorting policies—market
access limitations, domestic support to producers, and
export subsidies—the results would include an annual increase
in world welfare, or consumer purchasing power, of $56
billion over the next 15 years.
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
WTO Agricultural Trade Policy Commitments
Database contains data on implementation of trade
policy commitments by WTO member countries. Data on domestic
support, export subsidies, and tariffs are organized for
comparison across countries. This queriable database offers
various options for viewing and downloading data.
Agricultural Market Access Database
(AMAD) provides data and information on WTO member countries
regarding tariff schedules, tariff bindings, applied tariff
rates, import quantities, notifications to the WTO on
countries' commitments, and other data useful in analyzing
market access issues in agriculture.
Foreign Agricultural Trade of
the United States (FATUS) provides U.S. agricultural
exports and imports, volume and value, by country, by
commodity, and by calendar year, fiscal year, and month,
for varying periods, such as 1935 to the present or 1989
to the present. Updated monthly or annually.
Glossaries
Definitions of Terms Used in
This Briefing Room
World Trade Organization
Glossary
Related Briefing Rooms
U.S. Agricultural Trade
Global Resources
and Productivity
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA)
Related Links
Foreign Agricultural
Service (FAS). Official site provides data on current
U.S. trade; data on supply and demand (including imports
and exports) for major trading partners; current world
market and trade reports (and attache reports); and information
on the agricultural trade and agricultural policies of
foreign countries.
United States Trade Representative
(USTR). USTR is responsible for developing and implementing
trade policies which promote world growth, support efforts
to protect the environment and advance core labor standards.
World Trade Organization.
The WTO is the only global international organization
dealing with the rules of trade between nations. Official
site includes information about the organization and its
membership, and access to official WTO documents.
See all related links...
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