1 / 33

AGRICULTURAL TRADE: TAKING INTEGRATION SERIOUSLY

AGRICULTURAL TRADE: TAKING INTEGRATION SERIOUSLY Presentation by Elisabeth Bürgi, lic.iur, Attorney at Law World Trade Institute Berne, Switzerland. Presentation. Introduction Agricultural Trade: Some Features WTO embedded in International Public Law Relevant „Non-Trade“ Legal Benchmarks

amethyst-webster
Download Presentation

AGRICULTURAL TRADE: TAKING INTEGRATION SERIOUSLY

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. AGRICULTURAL TRADE: TAKING INTEGRATION SERIOUSLY Presentation by Elisabeth Bürgi, lic.iur, Attorney at Law World Trade Institute Berne, Switzerland

  2. Presentation • Introduction • Agricultural Trade: Some Features • WTO embedded in International Public Law • Relevant „Non-Trade“ Legal Benchmarks • AoA: Open for Integration? • Alternatives

  3. Agriculture Trade: Discourse

  4. Trade in Agriculture: Some Features • Percentage of population engaged in agriculture: -Developing Countries: 50 – 95 % -OECD Countries: 1- 6 % • Only 10% is traded internationally • Highest share in global agricultural trade by high income countries • OECD Countries: High Producer Support Estimates • Agric. Tariffs all-over higher than those applied to non-agricultural products

  5. Large Scale vs Small Scale Production Productivity Difference: 1/500

  6. Processed Food • Issue of Tariff Escalation

  7. Small Scale Agriculture: Sensitivities • 800 million people undernourished (2000) • 75% live in rural areas • Land Concentration / Lack of Access to Land (Gini Index) • Population Growth

  8. Substantial Loss of Diversity in Plant Genetic Resources of Food and Agriculture / New Varieties by Cultivation and Technology

  9. Small Scale Agriculture: Sensitivities

  10. Embedded WTO • Sub-System of International Public Law • No self-contained sub-system: Other legal standards relevant, as long as not „contracted out“ (Art. 3 DSU) • Art. 20 AoA; Doha Declaration

  11. Embedded WTO • Text reflects the Genesis Process • Preamble of the WTO Agreement: Reference to Sustainable Development

  12. Embedded WTO • Sustainable Development Concept: Outcome of three development decades -Brundtland Report 1987 -Rio Declaration 1992 etc. • Holistic, Integrative, Future-oriented Approach

  13. Concept of Sustainable Development • ILA Declaration: 7 Principles Inter alia: • Principle of Intergenerational Equity • Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsabilities • Core Principle: Principle of Integration (s. also Vienna Convention)

  14. Integrated Framework: 3 Pillars 4th Pillar: Specific Development Concerns?

  15. Legal Social Benchmarks Human Rights: • ICESCR Art. 11 para 2: Right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing, housing. > Part of Concept of Food Security

  16. Discrepancies Example: Human Rights Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2003: “39. Please explain why 7 per cent of Brazilian children suffer from undernourishment, in spite of the fact that the national production of the grains would be sufficient to feed one and a half times the total population of Brazil […].”

  17. Legal Social Benchmarks CEDAW Art. 14: Specific Rights regarding Rural Women etc.

  18. Human Rights and International Cooperation? Art. 2 para 1 ICESCR: “Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, […] Treaty Body: International Cooperation • more than development aid • responsability to make sure that international trade rules do not hinder, but promote the fulfillment of human rights

  19. Cultural Objectives

  20. Environmental Objectives OECD: „Reduction in trade barriers can have both beneficial and harmful effects on the environment.“ World Food Summit 1996: • “We will pursue participatory and sustainable food, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development policies and practices [..], and combat pests, drought and desertification, considering the multifunctional character of agriculture.”

  21. Legal Environmental Benchmarks Legal benchmarks in MEAs: • Biodiversity: CBD & FAO Seed Treaty • Fishery • Forest and Soil Protection (incl. water resources) • Climate Protection

  22. Legal Environmental Benchmarks • Landscape Diversity: eg. Alp Convention

  23. Legal Developmental Benchmarks Declaration on the Right to Development (1986; soft law): Responsabilities of countries to cooperate in order to overcome the gap etc.

  24. Others National Security Concerns: i.a. UN Charter

  25. Legal Economic Benchmarks Basic Principles of International Trade Agreements: -Transparency -Calculability -Non-discrimination (in conflict with ND in Human Rights regimes) -Peaceful Settlement of Disputes -Productivity, Efficiency -Policy Intervention only if necessary

  26. Integrated Outcome • Decision Making Process? • Substantive Provisions?

  27. AoA Decision Making Process AoA: WTO Agreement on Agriculture Practice WTO Negotiations • Mercantilistic Approach („give and take“) • Arbitrary Negotiation Procedure, not following balanced criteria („the louder the better rule“)

  28. AoA Decision Making Process: Alternatives • Structure the process according to clear, transparent criteria • Identify all the relevant benchmarks • Comprehensive impact assessments ex ante • Look for optimal solutions in expert committees, among members, UNagencies, civil society • Confront draft with identified benchmarks • Impact assessments ex post etc.

  29. AoA Substantive Provisions • Direction: Towards open world market • “One fit for all“ rules • Exemptions: Only temporary • But Green Box: no time limit; untransparent; unclear criteria • “No way back“ principle • Like Product Concept: Product differentiation (protection of special or sensitive products) is alien to system, etc. • > Incentive for cheapest, but not for „most sustainable produced“ products

  30. AoA: Alternatives? • Open System, but allow for Complexities • Treat different situations differently • Liberalisation as an instrument, not an objective: Way backward must be possible • Take justified non-trade concerns of all the countries seriously (also rich countries) • Protective measures: Follow strong non-economic criteria • Tackle whole process chain: intermediary trade • Internalise external environmental costs Etc.

  31. Agricultural Trade Regulation:Alternatives? Eg: -Each Member has Right (and Duty?) to shape its own Rural Development Strategy (RDS) -RDS: Has to take into account all the mentioned benchmarks -Protective tools ok, if justified by benchmarks

  32. Reform Utopian? Crisis as Chance?

More Related