WTO Bali Ministerial Provides Pathway to Post-Doha Round

WASHINGTON – The US Grains Council says that a Ministerial Agreement coming out of difficult negotiating sessions at the WTI meeting in Bali agreement provides a pathway for broader post-Doha multilateral negotiations which will encompass the remaining agricultural pillars - domestic subsidies and market access - that have been delayed since suspension of the Doha negotiations in 2008."

WTO members established an interim food security programme that will allow countries with existing food stockholding programmes to continue to operate these even if they exceed or will result in exceeding their allowable domestic subsidies for an interim period, until a final agreement is reached.
But US Grains Council Director of Trade Policy, Floyd Gaibler, says that while the agreement sets a target for reaching a final solution in four years at the 11th WTO Ministerial, it is not a binding duration. The agreement requires strong transparency and safeguard provisions, including protections to ensure that the operation of food stockholding programmes does not distort the trade or food security of other countries, he added. www.grains.org (ATI).