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8/3/2019 13558757 WTO Agreements
1/2
Information Backgrounder prepared for the Regional Breifing of National Consultation Facilitators
THE TIES THAT BIND WTO
OBLIGATIONS
AAllll CCAARRIIFFOORRUUMM ccoouunnttrriieess,, eexxcceepptt tthhee BBaahhaammaass,, aarree MMeemmbbeerrss ooff tthhee
WWoorrlldd TTrraaddee OOrrggaanniizzaattiioonn ((WWTTOO)).. TThhee WWTTOO iiss tthhee aaddmmiinniissttrraattiivvee bbooddyy ffoorr
tthhee iimmpplleemmeennttaattiioonn ooff tthhee WWTTOO mmuullttiinnaattiioonnaall ttrraaddee aaggrreeeemmeennttss.. AAss
MMeemmbbeerrss ooff tthhee WWTTOO,, CCAARRIIFFOORRUUMM MMeemmbbeerrss aarree lleeggaallllyy oobblliiggaatteedd ttoo
iimmpplleemmeenntt tthhee iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall ttrraaddee aaggrreeeemmeennttss.. IItt iiss iimmppoorrttaanntt tthhaatt tthheessee
aaggrreeeemmeennttss aarree wweellll uunnddeerrssttoooodd,, ssiinnccee tthhee ppaaccee aanndd ddeepptthh ooff
iimmpplleemmeennttiinngg tthheessee ccoommmmiittmmeennttss wwiillll hhaavvee ssiiggnniiffiiccaanntt iimmpplliiccaattiioonnss ffoorr
aaggrriiccuullttuurraall ddeevveellooppmmeenntt iinn ddeevveellooppiinngg CCaarriibbbbeeaann WWTTOO mmeemmbbeerr
ccoouunnttrriieess..
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With the 8th
Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and the establishment of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, agriculture generally, was subjected to a widening scope of trad
regulations and agreements, directly through the Agreements on Agriculture and Application on
Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures and indirectly, through rules of general application.
AAggrreeeemmeenntt oonn AAggrriiccuullttuurree ((AAooAA)) The WTO AoA seeks to reform principles and strengthen disciplines on agricultural policy inorder to reduce distortions in agricultural trade caused by agricultural protectionism and domestic
support policies of, particularly, developed countries.
The AoA obligates member countries to reduce barriers to market access (high tariffs and trade-
restricting non-tariff measures), the level and extent of support to domestic producers and limit th
use of measures that create conditions of unfair competition, specifically, export subsidies. Caribbean
countries obligations fell largely within the Market Access commitments to establish maximum o
bound tariffs. Tariff reduction commitments agreed to, also generally relate to reducing high tariffsto a final bound level for selected products. All Caribbean countries bound the final most favored
nation (MFN) tariffs for most agricultural products at 100%, with some variations according to
products and among countries, as notified in their Schedules. For Domestic Support commitments
Caribbean countries notified no trade-distorting measures (as classified in the Amber box) and thei
total domestic supports to agriculture were well within WTO-allowed levels. No Caribbean country
notified use of Export Subsidies; hence export subsidy reduction commitments were not applicable.
AAggrreeeemmeenntt oonn tthhee aapppplliiccaattiioonn ooff SSaanniittaarryy aanndd PPhhyyttoossaanniittaarryy ((SSPPSS))
mmeeaassuurreess The SPS agreement recognizes the sovereign right of every WTO member to take measures thatmay restrict trade and to implement national laws to protect human and animal life and health from
foodborne risks; human life from plant/animal carried diseases; animal or plant life from pests
diseases, or disease causing organisms; and preventing/limiting other damage to a country from thentry, establishment or spread of pests.
The WTO SPS Agreement obligated countries to reform and upgrade their agricultural health and
food safety systems depending on the status and operation of the systems at the time when the
Agreement took effect in 1995. The establishment and notification of single notification authoritie
and enquiry points, in particular, are the two unequivocal obligations for all countries. Caribbean
countries continue to experience significant difficulties in implementing the SPS Agreement, which
requires far reaching structural modification of various public institutions, the development and
implementation of administrative structures, the enactment of new legislation, upgrading technica
competence at various levels and institutional reform.
8/3/2019 13558757 WTO Agreements
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CCrroossss--SSeeccttoorraall WWTTOO AAggrreeeemmeennttss wwiitthh AApppplliiccaattiioonn ttoo tthhee AAggrrii--FFoooodd SSeeccttoorr
TTeecchhnniiccaall BBaarrrriieerrss ttoo TTrraaddee
((TTBBTT))..The objective is to ensure that
technical regulations are not prepared,
adopted or applied with a view to, or
with the effect of creating unnecessary
obstacles to trade. It sets out objectivesfor which governments may develop
technical regulations, including, inter
alia: national security; prevention of
deceptive practices; protection of
human health or safety, and animal
and plant life or health; and the
environment.
Technical regulations (compulsoryproduct standards, packaging &
labeling requirements, etc);
It establishes the basic principles for
the preparation, adoption and
application of technical regulations
and the procedures for conformity
assessment and circumscribes
mandatory technical regulations that
specify product characteristics or
their related processes and production
methods.
Product standards (e.g. productcharacteristics, process &
production methods, terminology &
symbols).
Both the SPS and TBT agreements
contain rules of general application,which govern goods entering the
customs territory of an importing
country. But the SPS Agreement is
focused more narrowly than the TBT
Agreement and therefore contains
certain objective standards of
legitimacy for all SPS measures.
As tariff barriers are reduced, the
importance of standards and technical
regulations has increased markedly.
Small developing countries should
devote carefully rationed attention tothe evolving rules in the TBT and SPS
WTO negotiations.
While it is clear that lower tariffs mean
freer trade, it is not at all clear how
changes in particular standards or
technical regulations, or the system as
a whole, affect trade. Specifications
can be voluntary standards or
mandatory technical regulations; they
can be national or international; and
most important, they can increase
access by developing countries to the
market or they can bar entry.
AAggrreeeemmeenntt oonn SSuubbssiiddiieess aannddCCoouunntteerrvvaaiilliinngg MMeeaassuurreess
((SSCCMM));;SCM seeks to balance potentially
conflicting concerns, such that: -
Domestic industries should not beput at an unfair disadvantage by
competition from goods that benefit
from government subsidies;
Countervailing measures to offsetsubsidies should not themselves be
obstacles to fair trade.
IImmpplleemmeennttaattiioonn ooffAArrttiiccllee VVII
ooffGGAATTTT11999944 ((AAnnttii--
DDuummppiinngg)) ((AADDPP))ADP seeks to balance potentially
conflicting interests of: -
importing countries in imposinganti-dumping measures to prevent
injury to domestic industries; and
exporters, that anti-dumpingmeasures and procedures should not
themselves become obstacles to fairtrade.
The SCM and ADP both govern
measures that governments of
importing countries can take if
requested by domestic industry in
response to unfair trade practices.
TTrraaddee RReellaatteedd AAssppeeccttss ooff
IInntteelllleeccttuuaall PPrrooppeerrttyy RRiigghhttss
((TTRRIIPPSS))The TRIPS Agreement seeks to ensure
minimum standards for protection of
intellectual property. In agriculture
that would be relate to:
trademarks, i.e., signs or symbolsused to distinguish goods of one
enterprise from another;
geographical indications (GIs)which refer to the use of a regions
name by producers from the area in
order to protect their reputation or
to safeguard the expectations o
consumers who have come to
associate certain qualities with a
products origin.
Geographical indications, in
particular, have become more
important in the global agriculture and
food industry because of the expansion
in global trade.
Although there are other related
international agreements, the TRIPS
Agreement is the first agreement to
deal with GIs as such. Under TRIPS
the normal level of protection
(afforded to all products) refers toMembers obligation to provide the
legal means for interested parties to
prevent the use of indications deceiving
consumers as to the geographica
origin of a good or constituting an ac
of unfair competition.
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aanndd ttrraaddee bbeeccoommeess
iinnccrreeaassiinnggllyy iimmppoorrttaanntt,, tthhee
wwoorrlldd ttrraaddiinngg ssyysstteemm hhaassbbeeccoommee lloocckkeedd iinnttoo
iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall ttrraaddee llaaww
CCoonnsseeqquueennttllyy,, ccoouunnttrriieess
wwiillll bbee ffuurrtthheerr pprreessssuurreedd ttoo
rreemmoovvee tthhee rreemmaaiinniinngg
iimmppeeddiimmeennttss ttoo ggrreeaatteerr
iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall eeccoonnoommiicc
ttrraannssaaccttiioonnss.. TThhee ccuurrrreenntt
nneeggoottiiaattiioonnss uunnddeerr tthhee
aauussppiicceess ooff tthhee DDoohhaa
DDeevveellooppmmeenntt AAggeennddaa
pprroovviiddee tthhee ffoorruumm iinn wwhhiicchh
WWTTOO mmeemmbbeerrss wwiillll sshhaappee
tthhee nneexxtt pphhaassee ooff ttrraaddee
aaggrreeeemmeennttss..