1. Building and Expanding Opportunities for Agriculture WTO Public Forum 2007 How can the WTO Help Harness Globalization 4-5 October 2007 Isabel M. Mazzei Oxfam International

2. Agricultural Trade Main Actors

3. Opportunities from the expansion of agriculture trade …. Subsidies must stop distorting prices – OECD Support 1998/00 is $258.57 bn. –Net Agricultural Trade developing countries: 1961/63 $bn6.68; 1979/81 $bn3.87; 1997/99 $bn.-0.23; 2015 $bn.-17.6 –Subsidies increase unfair exports/dumping –Main distorters: US 4 crops +90% and 72% goes to 10%; EC 80% goes to less than 20%

4. Opportunities from the expansion of agriculture trade …. Real Market Access –Eliminate over protection: tariff peaks and escalation –Eliminate Non Tariff Barriers –Eliminate Specific Tariff –Eliminate TRQs

5. Opportunities from the expansion of agriculture trade …. Policy Space for Agriculture Development Infrastructure Investment Technology Credit Marketing

6. Key beneficiaries Actual Situation –Main beneficiaries are not producers but distributors and retailers: –Cases: Robusta coffee producers C.dIvoire 18% of consumers $ (80-88) but only 7% (99- 03), Indonesia from 19% to 7% –Rich countries capture 70% of world trade of $20.6 trillions. Poor countries 81% population gets 30%. Africa gets 2.6%. LDCs 0.6% –Prices rise in dollars and dollars devaluate.

7. Issues and challenges for Member Countries and Agriculture A pro-development round should address current imbalances in the world trading system. Pending issues from the Doha Mandate: –RTAs/WTO –Rules of Origin, TBT, SPS and antidumping –TRIPs agreement

8. Issues and challenges for Member Countries and Agriculture Revisiting some cornerstone principles and assumptions at WTO to align them with economic, social and developmental realities: –Collateral effects of trade liberalization –One size must fit all –The state as impediment to trade and growth –Equity is to give as much as you receive Achieving much-needed internal reforms

9. How does an expansion of agricultural trade influence the economic agendas for WTO Members? US wants Market Access and keep subsidies. EC wants protect sensitive products + subsidies. Cairns wants Market Access and subsidies out. G-20 wants subsidies out, balanced Access and disciplines. G-10 asks for protection for sensitive products. G-33 asks for food security rural development, and livelihood (policy space).

10. CONCLUSION Trade can realise its fair potential when rich and poor countries alike redistribute opportunities in favour of the poor. This requires action at the national level, new forms of international co-operation, and a new architecture of global governance at the WTO.