Agriculture: Food Security and Trade Liberalization

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Tangermann
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Doha Round ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
Agreement On Agriculture

In the WTO's Doha Round, agriculture is again at center stage, even though it accounts for no more than a small and declining share of world trade. The Agreement on Agriculture concluded in the Uruguay Round was a huge step forward in the GATT's dealings with agriculture. But more needs to be done. In recent years, agricultural support in several developing countries has increased while developed countries have reformed their farm policies and improved market orientation. One specific problem in the Doha Round negotiations on agriculture is the treatment of public stockholding for food security purposes. A possible solution could come through an amendment of the rules for measuring domestic support, by agreeing that procurement prices below prices prevailing on international markets are not considered "administered prices".

Demystifying Blue Box Support to Agriculture Under the WTO: Implications for Developing Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-185
Author(s):  
Sachin Kumar Sharma ◽  
Adeet Dobhal ◽  
Surabhi Agrawal ◽  
Abhijit Das
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Economic Situation ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Doha Round ◽  
Policy Space ◽  
Specific Support ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
Agreement On Agriculture

Developing members at the WTO face a shrinkage in policy space for supporting their agricultural sector due to the limited room available under the provisions of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). Contrastingly, most developed members can provide high levels of product-specific support without breaching their commitments on account of their support entitlements. For some of these members, the so-called ‘Blue Box’ under the AoA, plays a pivotal role in expanding the policy space with respect to domestic support to agricultural products. Though a lot of scholarship has discussed and examined other support provisions under the AoA, the ‘Blue Box’ remains relatively shrouded in mystery. Testimony to this is the fact that although the Blue Box has found use amongst developed members, no developing member, except for China in 2016, has ever used the Blue Box to support their producers. Given the impasse in the Doha Round of negotiations and limited flexibilities available under the AoA, this paper examines the feasibility and compatibility Blue Box measures with developing members’ socio-economic situation. Findings of this paper bring to fore the variations in member practice and the operational flexibilities available in implementing Blue Box programmes to support agriculture. JEL: F13, F14, F17, Q17

A Decade of the World Trade Organization and the Trade Performance of Muslim Countries

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-44
Author(s):  
Ruzita Mohd. Amin
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
Merchandise Trade ◽  
Wto Agreements

The World Trade Organization (WTO), established on 1 January 1995 as a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), has played an important role in promoting global free trade. The implementation of its agreements, however, has not been smooth and easy. In fact this has been particularly difficult for developing countries, since they are expected to be on a level playing field with the developed countries. After more than a decade of existence, it is worth looking at the WTO’s impact on developing countries, particularly Muslim countries. This paper focuses mainly on the performance of merchandise trade of Muslim countries after they joined the WTO. I first analyze their participation in world merchandise trade and highlight their trade characteristics in general. This is then followed by a short discussion on the implications of WTO agreements on Muslim countries and some recommendations on how to face this challenge.

Does the WTO Need to Change?

2010 ◽  
Vol 109 (730) ◽  
pp. 355-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Schott
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Global Trade ◽  
Doha Round ◽  
The World

The World Trade Organization is in disrepair. To fix it, and thereby boost global trade liberalization, nations must first successfully conclude the Doha Round of talks.

scholarly journals The structural characteristics of world trade and the merchandise exports of Serbia

2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (181) ◽  
pp. 55-91
Author(s):  
Radovan Kovacevic
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
International Production ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Merchandise Trade

This paper analyses the world merchandise trade structure and the structure of Serbian merchandise exports. The analysis shows that the prominent characteristic of post-World War II world trade is more dynamic growth in the volume of manufactured goods as compared to agricultural goods. Due to the lessening share of agricultural products world merchandise trade has decreased and rapid industrialization has been fostered in developing countries. An increased share for developing countries followed the developed countries' decreasing share in world manufacturing trade. The developing countries' increased share was strongest in telecom and office equipment exports. These sectors are characterized by production fragmentation, which is being realized by transnational companies. Serbia, like the other South East European countries, has not yet managed to significantly integrate into international production networks. Serbia's most important exports are manufactured products with a low level of added value . In addition, Serbia still has a high share of primary products in its exports. A higher share of exports of goods and services in the gross domestic products (GDP) cannot be achieved without increasing imports of new technologies and equipment, i.e. without a higher investment share of the GDP. The main conclusion of this article is that the creation of a favorable investment climate and an increase in Serbia's international credit rating are the preconditions for stronger foreign direct investment (FDI), which would be the main channel for restructuring in the real sector. Creation of new small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through greenfield investment and their integration into the international production networks is the starting point for the restructuring of Serbian industrial production and merchandise export, i.e. the way of increasing the share of merchandise exports in the GDP.

scholarly journals Is Current Research on How Climate Change Impacts Global Food Security Really Objective?

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2342
Author(s):  
Wangang Liu ◽  
Yiping Chen ◽  
Xinhua He ◽  
Ping Mao ◽  
Hanwen Tian
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Hotspot Analysis ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Food

Global food insecurity is becoming more severe under the threat of rising global carbon dioxide concentrations, increasing population, and shrinking farmlands and their degeneration. We acquired the ISI Web of Science platform for over 31 years (1988–2018) to review the research on how climate change impacts global food security, and then performed cluster analysis and research hotspot analysis with VosViewer software. We found there were two drawbacks that exist in the current research. Firstly, current field research data were defective because they were collected from various facilities and were hard to integrate. The other drawback is the representativeness of field research site selection as most studies were carried out in developed countries and very few in developing countries. Therefore, more attention should be paid to developing countries, especially some African and Asian countries. At the same time, new modified mathematical models should be utilized to process and integrate the data from various facilities and regions. Finally, we suggested that governments and organizations across the world should be united to wrestle with the impact of climate change on food security.

scholarly journals The International Legal Regime for Biotechnology Patenting: an Appraisal from the Standpoint of Developing Countries

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-325
Author(s):  
Jean-Faustin Badimboli Atibasay
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
The Core ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Biological Innovations ◽  
Ipr Protection

The development of biotechnology, which promises many economic opportunities, has revived the debate over the ownership of biological resources and its derivatives, as well as the sharing of the benefits which derive from its multiple applications. At the core of the debate, is the recent marriage between intellectual property rights (IPR) and international trade, within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this context, the need of developed countries to prevent trade distortions due to the lack of adequate IPR protection in developing countries, is weighed against the need to promote local interests in these countries. However, the legal impact of recent multilateral agreements, which address biological innovations, is still subject to controversy. An assessment of these instruments reveals divergent approaches to the issues which divide the parties concerned. This results in ambiguities and conflicts with respect to relevant provisions of these agreements. From a wide range of possible solutions discussed, industrial and developing countries might consider to review the disputed provisions in a way that attempts to harmonise the agreements and render legal implications of their respective initiatives in this area more predictable.

scholarly journals From Preferential Trade Arrangements to Free Trade Agreements: One of the Downturns of Cooperation in International Relations?

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Jaime Baena-Rojas ◽  
Susana Herrero-Olarte
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Tariff Preference ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Trading Partners

Since the signing of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have been an interesting tool to promote international cooperation through the granting of non-reciprocal and/or unilateral tariff preferences by developed countries to developing countries. These international agreements have tended to generate critical trade dependencies for the receiving countries. Due to the circumstances of world trade and due to the lack of interest of the grantors to maintain this type of tariff preference, these developing countries are forced to renegotiate their PTAs into to free trade agreements (FTAs). To demonstrate this, we conducted a qualitative analysis to characterize the behavior of PTAs and their impact on the configuration of FTAs and to obtain indicators and trends. The results suggested a predominance of FTAs and a decline in PTAs. This was done to maintain access to the markets within those granting countries, which also became the main trading partners of these PTA recipient countries.

Reforming the WTO Legal Order for Agricultural Trade: Issues for European Rural Policy in the Doha Round

2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 805-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cardwell ◽  
Christopher Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Common Agricultural Policy ◽  
Agricultural Trade ◽  
Doha Round ◽  
Payment Scheme ◽  
The Common ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
Agreement On Agriculture ◽  
Single Farm Payment

AbstractEuropean farm policy has undergone radical change in recent years, culminating in the Agenda 2000 reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy agreed in 1999 and then their Mid-Term Review in 2003. In particular, subsidy payments have been substantially ‘decoupled’ from production and switched decisively towards providing income support for farmers under a new ‘single farm payment’ scheme. These reforms have been predicated upon the need to win acceptance for Community farm subsidies in the Doha Round of WTO negotiations. This article examines the new law of the Common Agricultural Policy against the background of the domestic support reduction commitments contained in the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. It questions the extent to which the single farm payment scheme fulfils the requirements for ‘green box’ exemption from such commitments. Options for the re-negotiation of the Agreement on Agriculture are discussed, including measures to improve the justiciability of its terms and to exclude discriminatory and trade-distorting domestic support. The article also considers the implications of the recent WTO Appellate Body Decisions inUnited States—Subsidies on Upland Cotton and European Communities-Export Subsidies on Sugar. It concludes that the Community will have difficulty gaining acceptance for its reforms among WTO Members. Whatever the legitimacy of its subsidy regime within the framework of the current Agreement on Agriculture, the emergence of a strong negotiating position among developing countries, posited on opposition to the volume of farm support maintained by the Community and United States, may present even greater obstacles to the conclusion of a new Agreement on Agriculture in the Doha Round.

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