WTO & TTIPOn the current situation of trade policy

Voedsel Anders Conferentie

Op weg naar eerlijke en duurzame voedsel- en landbouwsystemen

Workshop 1IFree trade or market regulation within agriculture

Wageningen 12 Februay 2016

• What happened at the WTO in Nairobi (agriculture on the agenda of “MC10”)

• New agreements on “export competition”• New safeguards for farmers in developing

countries • New rules to ensure food security

• Implications of TTIP for agriculture • Differences in environmental, health and animal

welfare standards. The problem and what could be done if we wanted

• Impact on farmers outside US & EU

Outline

What happened at the WTO in Nairobi (agriculture on the agenda of “MC10”)

• New agreements on “export competition”

EU and USA don’t have to make any relevant changes on

agriculture export competition

• Export Subsidies (EU)

• “Food Aid” and “Export Credits” (USA)

EU does not have to make new changes on agriculture export subsides

USA succeed to prevent to be forced by WTO to make any significant changes on agriculture export competition

USA do not use “export subsidies”

Now some new rules on “food aid” and “export credits”

But ! Rules are too soft.

Worse than original 2005 WTO text (Ref4)Requires no significant new changes in US policy

This Nairobi agreementprevents any significant changes in the future

This dossier is now closed at WTO

What happened at the WTO in Nairobi (agriculture on the agenda of “MC10”)

• New safeguards for farmers in developing countries • New rules to ensure food security

EU and USA blocked new WTO rules to safeguard farmers in developing

countries and ensure food security

• Public stockholding for food security purposes

• Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM)

Public stockholding for food security purposes (example India)

State buys staple crops from small and poor farmers at price of “cost of production” if that’s above market price

These staple crops are then sold at a very low (symbolic) price to poor people

If this law gets implemented. India would exceed the allowed amount of subsidies

It was agreed at WTO in 2013 (by consensus but against the wish of EU & US) to find a permanent solution to this

problem

Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM)

A tool that will allow developing countries to raise agriculture tariffs temporarily to deal with import surges or price falls.

Impact of TTIP on Agriculture

How many farmers are there in the EU and US ?

Europe : 13,7 million farmers average farm size of 12 hectares

USA : 2,0 million farmers average farm size of 180 hectares

(source EU commission 07/08/2013)

Effect of a free EU-US agriculture market

Regulatory issues and “Non-Tariff Barriers”

Aim: to align the way how the economy is regulated in EU & US

harmonization = higher or lower standard ?

“harmonization” “mutual recognition”

Different:history, paradigms, philosophies of regulationEU: “precautionary principle” US: “science-based”

No easy tradeoffs

TTIP negotiations already have an impact now

after a general statement of support for TTIP

“[...] However, [we] would like to bring to your attention an EUproposal being considered to regulate pesticides which if implemented could prevent 40% of current U.S. agricultural commodity exports from entering the EU.

We believe that such domestic EU regulation, if finalized and implemented, can imperil the TTIP. […]”

Letter to US government (USTR)from CropLife America 13/11/2013

What could be done (if wanted)

Regulatory issues and “Non-Tariff Barriers”

Different internalization of social and environment costs

Regulatory issues and “Non-Tariff Barriers”

Different internalization of social and environment costs

Impact of TTIP on agriculturein developing countries

“Trade diversion”Lower import barriers for one country (EU/US)

-> replaces import from another country

TTIP => “Preference erosion”Example Beef Botswana

Botswana signed EPA to keep trade preferences for beef.But now, the country must (more or less)

fully open its market to EU imports

32 min Video YouTube

http://bit.ly/TTIP-wurTTIP Why it Matters

19.11.2015

“TTIP: what it means for our democracy and ethical considerations on the

environment, agriculture and legalsystem”

Want to know more about TTIP ?

Thank YouBurghard Ilge

Email: bi@bothends.orgTwitter: @bibothendsWebsite: www.bothends.org