WTO scraps subsidies on meat exports

Developed countries agreed to stop the subsidies immediately and developing nations must follow by the end of 2018.

For these products, the governments of more developed markets have negotiated some leeway, if their governments have previously notified the WTO agriculture committee about the subsidies.

The summit of ministers, which finished on Saturday after five days of talks, was the first to be held in Africa.

“Mr Groser shares some of the responsibility, because the TPP and the Korea “free trade” agreements enshrine subsidies and protectionism. So I would still appeal to delete the date given here”, she said at the concluding session of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference.

The WTO, which represents 162 countries, called it “the most significant outcome on agriculture” since the body’s foundation in 1995.

The move was strongly resisted by countries such as India, where farmers say that kind of protection is key for food safety. It will also make it easier for so-called least-developed countries to benefit from preferential market access for their goods.

The Geneva-based WTO, which invited Liberia and Afghanistan to become its 163rd and 164th members, has been trying and largely failing to agree on a worldwide package of trade reforms since a meeting in Doha in 2001 hatched an ambitious plan for knocking down trade barriers.

India faced a major setback due to a lack of consensus among WTO countries on reaffirming the Doha Development Agenda- which was its most important demand from this ministerial.

But it added: “Other members do not reaffirm the Doha mandates, as they believe new approaches are necessary to achieve meaningful outcomes in multilateral negotiations”.

Australian trade minister Andrew Robb on Monday however told Australia’s national broadcaster the latest Doha negotiations are in need of overhaul as the agriculture deal is only one part of the trade pact.

Trade Minister Todd McClay said the gradual removal of all agriculture export subsidies would level the playing field for New Zealand farmers.

“Agricultural export subsidies could be worth as much as $16 billion”.

But they agreed to disagree about the potential for success in the Doha round of talks.

The objective of the negotiations is to reduce distortions in agricultural trade caused by high tariffs and subsidies.

In fact, the Nairobi ministerial also leaves a window open for the inclusion of new issues – investment, competition, transparency in government procurement, to name just three – that developed countries have been pushing for and developing countries have been resisting.