Agriculture

Canada's Position in the WTO

The agriculture negotiations have been at the heart of the current round of multilateral trade negotiations, the Doha Development Agenda, since it was launched at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in November 2001, in Doha, Qatar. Given its role as a major agricultural exporter and importer, Canada has a fundamental interest in further strengthening the international rules governing agricultural trade. Canada continues to press for an ambitious result from the Doha Round, and in particular for the elimination of all forms of export subsidies, the substantial reduction of trade-distorting domestic support, and real and significant improvements in market access. Throughout the negotiations, Canada has put forward constructive ideas that have helped to advance discussions in ways that meet these objectives.

In the Doha Round, Canada has been working hard with other WTO Member countries, both developed and developing, to achieve a fairer, more open and more level international playing field for our agricultural producers and processors. At the 6th WTO Ministerial conference in Hong Kong, December 2005, WTO members adopted a Ministerial Declaration. While the outcome was not as ambitious as Canada would have liked, the Declaration reflected progress on several issues important to Canada’s agricultural sector.

In the winter and spring of 2006, WTO Members worked hard to reach agreement on the framework for detailed commitments (“modalities”) for agriculture; however, differences on the key issues remained. After a meeting of key members in July 2006 failed to bring about further progress, Director-General Pascal Lamy recommended the negotiations be suspended in all areas within the Single Undertaking, including in agriculture. Despite the suspension, informal discussions continued and on January 31, 2007, following an informal WTO Ministerial meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the negotiations were re-launched.

Work has continued in Geneva throughout 2007 in technical discussions at the multilateral level as well as in small groups. Canada continues to be engaged at all levels of the negotiations, where agriculture continues to be a central issue. The Doha Round was a key topic of discussion when Minister Emerson met with his counterparts at the Cairns Group meeting in Lahore, Pakistan (April 16-18, 2007), at the Doha Round Ministerial on the margins of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (May 16, 2007), and at the APEC ministerial meetings in Australia (July 5-6, 2007 and September 5-6, 2007). At the APEC Leaders’ meeting in Sydney, Australia (September 8-9), APEC leaders issued a separate statement on the Doha Round negotiations.

To help advance the agriculture negotiations, in July 2007 the Chair of the Agriculture Negotiations Committee, New Zealand’s Ambassador to the WTO, Mr. Crawford Falconer, released a comprehensive draft modalities text on agriculture, that sets out ideas and proposed parameters for detailed rules and commitments in all three areas of the agriculture negotiations (domestic support, market access and export competition). The text is a working document which the Chair has distributed under his own responsibility. It does not represent consensus views among WTO Members, but provides a focus for efforts by all WTO Members to close outstanding gaps in negotiating positions and to work towards an ambitious outcome. Canada will continue to work actively with other WTO Members toward this objective

Canada remains committed to the objectives of the Doha Development Agenda and stands to achieve significant economic benefits from an ambitious outcome in the Round, across all of the negotiating areas, including for the agriculture and agri-food sector. Developing countries stand to gain from further integration into the world trading system, and from reductions in agricultural subsidies.

Consultations

The Government of Canada will continue to consult closely with the provinces and territories and the full range of agriculture industry stakeholders regarding Canada’s participation in the WTO agriculture negotiations. Canada is seeking the best possible outcome from these negotiations for the entire agriculture sector.

Contact

If you have questions or comments, please contact Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada at:

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Division (TIF)
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2
Fax 613-992-6002
E-mail: consultations@international.gc.ca