1. WTO AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE: LEGAL AND CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
A PRESENTATION
BY O.P. HISARIA

2. Context and Need of a separate Agreement
Agriculture outside the purview of GATT, 1947.
Trade in agriculture important for a large number of countries.
Prevalence of distortions.
Unwillingness of Members to integrate the agriculture trade completely with other goods trade.

3. Product Coverage under AoA
HS Chapters 1 to 24 less fish and fish products.
Mannitol, sorbitol, essential oils, albuminoidal substances, modified starches, glues and finishing agents.
Hides and skins, raw furskins.
Raw silk, silk waste, wool and animal hair.
Raw cotton, waste and cotton carded or combed, raw flax and raw hemp.

4. Areas of commitment: Market Access
Tariffication.
Binding of tariffs.
Tariff reduction.
Minimum market access commitments.
TRQ
Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSG).

5. Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ)
Applied by 43 Members on 1425 products.
The methods of quota allocation:
First-come, first serve.
Licences on demand.
Auctioning.
Historical importers.
Import by STEs.
Import by producers’ group/association.
Applied tariff.

6. Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSG)
Only for products in tariffication.
Cannot apply to in-quota imports.
Two types of triggers: volume based and price based.
Application based on notified levels of price and volume triggers.
In volume trigger, duty is one-third of applied rate.
In price trigger, duty depends on price.

7. Areas of Commitment: Domestic Support
Amber Box
Exempt support under Article 6.2.
Exempt support under De-minimis.
Exempt support under Article 6.5 (Blue Box).
Subsidies under Annex.2 (Green Box)

8. Green Box: The types
General services including research, pest and disease control, training, extension and advisory, inspection, marketing and promotion, infrastructural services.
Public stock holding for food security.
Domestic food aid.
Direct payments including decoupled income support, income insurance and income safety net, relief from natural disasters, structural adjustment assistance, environmental programmes and regional assistance programmes.

9. Areas of commitment: Export subsidy
Reduction commitment.
Enumeration of prohibited subsidies.
S&D for developing countries.

10. Subsidies prohibited under the Agreement
Direct export subsidies contingent on export performance.
Sale of non-commercial stocks of agricultural products for export at prices lower than comparable domestic prices.
Cost reduction measures such as subsidies to reduce the cost of marketing.
Internal transport subsidies applying to exports only.
Subsidies on incorporated products.
Government levy leading to promotion of export.

11. Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries
Exemption under Article 6.2.
Higher level of De-minimis (Article 6.4).
Continuation of certain types of export subsidies (Article 9.4).
Special provision on use of export prohibition or restriction on food stuff (Article 12.2).
Lower levels of reduction commitment on tariff, trade distorting support and export subsidies.

12. Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries
No commitments on LDCs.
Special measures for net food importing developing countries.
Future negotiations to take care of S&D for developing countries.
Special provision concerning public stock holding for food security and domestic aid.
Special treatment under Annex.5.

13. Other issues Non-trade concerns. Peace Clause.
Notification Requirements
Case Law

14. Peace Clause
Green Box – No CVD action, no nullification and impairment.
Amber and Blue Box – No serious prejudice action possible, no nullification and impairment, determination of injury required for CVD.
Export subsidies – No serious prejudice action possible, determination of injury required for CVD.
General Safeguards, BoP provisions, anti-dumping possible in some cases.

15. Non-Trade Concerns Food and livelihood security. Environment.
Multi-functionality.
Food safety.
Animal welfare.

16. Dispute Settlement Action
European Communities – measures affecting importation of certain poultry products.
European Communities – regime for importation, distribution and sale of banana.
Korea – Beef.
USA – Tax treatment for Foreign Sales Corporation
Canada – Import of milk and export of dairy products.
Chile – Price Band System
USA – Subsidy for upland cotton.
EC – Export subsidies for sugar.

17. Notification Requirement
Notifications for volume and price trigger under the SSG, annual notification on use of measures.
Summary of total Domestic Support.
Export subsidy – budgetary outlay and quantity reduction commitment, notification of total exports, statement of non-use of export subsidy.
Annual notification setting out the quantity of food aid provided to LDCs and NFIDCs

18. Thank you