摘要：Negotiations on agriculture were successfully launched in the WTO early in 2000. In the ini-tial phase, negotiating proposals have been submitted by member countries and are beingdiscussed in special sessions of the WTO Committee on Agriculture. A stock-taking exercisewill be held in March 2001 to establish the next steps in the process. Many developmentswill influence the shape and dynamics of the negotiations, particularly the possibility of acomprehensive trade round.The first part of this paper examines the policy setting for the negotiations. The ongoing inte-gration of economies and accompanying agricultural policy reforms provide an environmentfor further trade liberalization. Expansion of regional trade agreements and EU enlargementnegotiations add urgency to the multilateral negotiating process. Newer trade issues and non-trade concerns, often connected to the food business, focus attention on the agricultural talksbut may also retard them. A further factor that will add urgency is the anticipated expiry ofthe Peace Clause in 2003. The paper reviews the main agricultural issues for negotiation andthe initial negotiating positions. Substantial progress in improving access is essential for thenegotiations to succeed. The issues of export subsidies, other forms of export competition,unfair pricing practices, and dumping are receiving much attention. There are pressures toreduce or eliminate all forms of trade-distorting domestic support. Many non-trade concernsare being introduced, and legitimate trade issues will need to be addressed. The developingcountries are determined to extract a better deal for their agriculture. The paper concludesthat the elements for progress in further agricultural trade liberalization are coming to thenegotiating table but much uncertainty remains both within and outside agriculture.1
