To enable such an understanding and appreciation amongst stakeholders, this dialogue was jointly convened by ICTSD and the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS). The meeting aimed at providing insights into the political processes and realities that shape decisions on market access, domestic support and domestic policy reform. It looked at the priorities for policy making in the EU and US in the run up to Hong Kong and highlighted how the US farm bill and the EU CAP reform might affect the negotiating position and flexibilities of the EU and US in the run up to Hong Kong. The speakers addressed the impacts of the respective policies on the multilateral trading system and specifically on the current Doha negotiations and also discussed subsequent effects on worldwide agriculture and sustainable development goals.

Professor Robert L. Thompson, Chair of the International Food and Agriculture Trade Policy Council addressed US domestic farm policies while Mr. Peter Thompson, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Delegation of the European Commission to the WTO, shared political insights on the EU agriculture reform. The presentations were followed by a moderated discussion amongst participants.

Civil society proposals to improve governance of primary commodity markets for sustainability have clustered around four broad approaches. First, environmental and conservation groups seek the application of commodity stewardship, whereby markets can work to increase the demand for sustainably produced products, through segregated supply chains or through preferential access to markets or to finance. Elsewhere, a cluster of organisations is revisiting supply management to reduce oversupply and price volatility, focusing on multilateral public policy and the lessons from the collapse of International Commodity Agreements (ICAs). Third, a group of farm and development organisations is concerned about growing corporate concentration in commodity markets and the impact of imbalances of market power on the share of wealth finding its way back to primary producers. This group is focused on competition policy and corporate accountability. Finally a fourth group argues that the elimination of trade barriers and distortions in the context of ongoing WTO negotiations will increase world prices and provide new trading opportunities to developing countries. The WTO 1 August decision and its Annex on agriculture address some of those issues, notably through provisions on export subsidies, domestic support, tropical products, and trade preferences.

This three day strategic dialogue organised by ICTSD and IIED with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, sought to bring together the different strands of debate around commodity trade and production to explore the opportunities for achieving sustainability and poverty reduction. It built on a first dialogue, held in Windsor UK in July 2004 which focused on the multilateral trade agenda, especially the WTO Doha round and linking the negotiations to other areas of policy necessary for trade liberalization to realize its potential towards improvement of the lives of the world’s poor. The specific objectives of this meeting were threefold:

Exchange information on each organisation’s current activities;

Identify elements of a pro-poor, pro-sustainable development agenda for commodities;

Develop joint vision, strategies for taking the reform agenda forward, and potential future collaboration.

This joint FAO-ICTSD Consultation presented a timely opportunity to discuss the key issues, factors and methods enabling developing countries to build on the elements of S&DT contained in the General Council Decision, translate them into concrete modalities, and phrase them effectively and meaningfully within the WTO context.

More specifically, the Consultation sought to:

1. Address and analyse key issues in the area of Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) and agriculture;

2. Assess whether the S&DT provisions under each pillar, namely market-access, domestic support and export competition, provided for in Annex A, would enable developing countries to ‘sufficiently’ address their non-trade and other concerns, and to what extent;

3. Set out the criteria that might be developed for promoting context specific S&DT in agriculture;

4. Explore the possible additional options for developing countries to mitigate their key concerns on S&DT within the context of the current WTO negotiations on agriculture; and finally,

5. Ask what can experts offer to negotiators and the on-going negotiations by way of clarification?

The Consultation sought to clarify existing analysis related to S&DT and generate constructive and policy-oriented ideas through a discussion amongst experts. It comprised four sessions spread over two days. Each session was introduced by selected participants presenting their analysis on each of the pillars relevant to agriculture negotiations, namely market-access, domestic-support and export competition. This was followed by two or more short expert commentaries on each of the presentations and an interactive discussion on the relevant issues under each pillar outlined in the agenda. The consultation was concluded by a two-hour final integration and wrap-up session.

Over the past three months, FAO has organised four consultations, on both cross-cutting (tariff cutting formulae and domestic support measures) and commodity-specific (cotton and sugar) issues, to review and assess the existing technical information, including recent relevant studies and findings. The aim of these consultations is to facilitate the negotiations and reform process through a better understanding of some of the technical issues involved. This was the fifth consultation in the current series. It is also in keeping with the objective of earlier dialogues organised by ICTSD, including on the issues of agriculture and special and differential treatment, to assist the negotiating process through a better understanding of relevant issues at the interface of agriculture, trade and sustainable development.

The goal of this Strategic Dialogue was to determine a better sense of how the agricultural negotiations in the Doha round can increase benefits for poor people and nations and how to link developments in the negotiations to other areas of policy necessary for trade liberalization to realize its potential towards improvement of the lives of the world’s poor.

The Windsor strategic dialogue had been conceptualized as an opportunity for a select mix of trade, agriculture, poverty, and sustainable development analysts and actors to explore shared concerns and work towards a common vision for agriculture policies reform, such that the resulting WTO processes and agreements address the imperatives of poverty alleviation and food security. In this sense the dialogue focused around three sets of driving questions:

1. Principles and assumptions currently driving reform, are they conducive to pro-development outcomes? In the current round’s three-pillar approach and ambitions set, what are key specific features to secure gains for poor countries, and for the poorer sectors in them in particular?

2. Are there key opportunities outside the formal structure of current trade negotiations that would help poor countries benefit from further liberalization, and could sustainability-oriented strategies help realize those opportunities? How do these opportunities interface with the negotiation, crafting and implementation of trade rules? What is needed at this stage in order to ensure that outcomes of the Doha talks support these opportunities?

3. Is the vision embedded in the operation and agreements of the Multilateral Trade System helpful? Can we work on an overall vision of how trade, agriculture, and development policies need to come together to benefit the poor, and what kinds of information, collaboration, and strategy are required to create such a vision?

The main objectives of the meeting were to:

broaden understanding among participants of the challenges posed by reviewing current approaches to agriculture trade policy reform from poverty alleviation and sustainability objectives, through exchange of information and views,

explore possibilities of developing a share vision that responds to such challenges.

This ICTSD Lunch Time Discussion is a small informal gathering meant to facilitate constructive exchange within the trade and sustainable development policy communities - including delegates, as well as representatives of civil society, business and intergovernmental organisations. The meeting is ‘off the record’ and no proceedings are kept, in order to promote the open flow of ideas.

Synopsis

International trade, at roughly six trillion dollars per year, is a huge potential force for sustainable development by opening up new markets, exposing domestic firms to international practices, and bringing new investment and growth from trade that can create the necessary conditions for sustainable development and poverty alleviation on a scale unreachable by dwindling traditional official development assistance flows. Potential is only that, potential. Achieving these benefits depends on a number of factors, capacities and conditions for successful achievement of both economic growth and sustainable development.

Trade Knowledge Network (TKN) Partners in eight countries have conducted research and policy workshops on opportunities and challenges for achieving sustainable development goals in their country around specific sectors or trade agreements. TKN research organisations have explored issues which range among opportunities for achieving sustainable agriculture within the Agreement on Agriculture; to standards, labels, and market access in relation to organic products, GMOs, and shrimp aquaculture; to liberalization of electricity and tourism services. While the focus of research has differed from country to country, the learning and lessons which have emerged are of interest to all countries trying to find benefits and overcome challenges to integrating sustainable development goals into trade policy and practice.

This session will focus its discussion on how developing countries could make use of new developments within the framework of the WTO trade negotiations to promote sustainable development. To this end the discussion will draw on various case studies from various countries based on the experience and research as provided by the TKN partners and try to highlight the linkages between sustainable development, economic activity and market access at the domestic and international levels.