A context of uncertainty and the lack of significant progress on important topics on the World Trade Organization (WTO) agenda make up the environment prior to the XII Ministerial Conference (CM12) of the governing body for global trade that will take place this year, showed a publication by the Institute Inter-American Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
The joint document The path to World Trade Organization (WTO) CM12: a perspective from Latin America and the Caribbean exposes that geopolitical changes and the Covid-19 pandemic have drastically impacted the institutional priorities of countries and the WTO itself, in addition, the global economy has deteriorated substantially in the last two years, with structural impacts in the areas of trade and security food, especially in Latin American and Caribbean states.
The Institute for International Agricultural Negotiations (INAI), the Group of Southern Producing Countries (GPS), the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, the FAO and different researchers from the region also participated in the development of the study.
The publication was presented at an event that included the participation of Gloria Abraham, Ambassador of Costa Rica to the WTO and president of that organization's agricultural negotiations, who was also represented by Anabel González, Deputy Director General, and Edwini Kessie, Director of the Division of Agriculture and Basic Products and Head of the Results Unit.
Also participating in the launch were: David Laborde, Senior Researcher at IFPRI's Markets, Commerce and Institutions Division; and Manuel Otero, General Director of IICA.
The document offers key ideas on the topics that will be addressed at CM12, the most important decision-making body in the multilateral trading system. The conference will be held from November 30th to December 3rd in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to Gloria Abraham, the impacts on trade caused by different international situations are evident. “It was possible to identify that there is an increase in food prices, and congestion in some ports around the world has attracted attention; This increased prices for transporting products and will obviously have an impact on consumers’ pockets,” she said.
“Faced with unprecedented stress, the road to recovery remains bumpy and uncertain; there are a large number of risks and dangers, the most immediate being unequal access to vaccines, as well as the shortage of microchips, congestion at ports, increased transport costs, the intensification of climate change phenomena and the increase in poverty and inequality. All of this limits the capacity of commerce to support the recovery”, said Anabel González.
For David Laborde, from IFPRI, agricultural trade was very resilient during the pandemic and continued to operate thanks to the push of the sector and policymakers.
“(Decision makers) tried to facilitate the process, as they understood that these points were critical for food safety. Some countries are already on the right path, there were restrictions, but they were removed quickly and limited in scope,” he added.
In turn, Edwini Kessie, Director of the WTO's Agriculture and Commodities Division, explained that “the organization's member countries want to see results in three main areas, such as agriculture, fisheries and trade and health. The Ministerial Conference represents a great opportunity to achieve a vital and dynamic trading system.”
Among other elements, the IICA and IFPRI publication highlights that since the last Ministerial Conference, in 2017, the multilateral trading system and its main organization, the WTO, have been attacked and discredited. Thus, the possibility of moving towards coordinated solutions to the main global problems through multilateral cooperation seems unlikely.
Another aspect analyzed is the response adopted by several countries to the effect of this situation on international trade and agriculture. Many nations have reviewed their trade policies to adjust them to different scenarios regarding food security and agricultural trade flows.
Rising raw material prices and fears of food shortages have led some governments to apply restrictive measures that limit or tax the sector's exports.
Other measures adopted include direct interventions in the market, whether through public actions, special safeguard mechanisms or State commercial companies.
The adoption of these measures has sparked new debates about their effectiveness in reducing food insecurity and promoting the development of fair and transparent food markets.
The publication evaluates different alternatives to resolve potential obstacles in international markets and agricultural trade. The aim is to provide valuable and useful contributions to reaching successful agreements and thus achieving a fair and effective global food system and more transparent international trade.
“This publication, which was born from a joint effort between IICA, IFPRI and researchers from the region, comes at a very special time, after the 2021 Food Systems Summit, convened by the United Nations, highlighted the importance of international trade in the functioning of agri-food systems, said Manuel Otero, General Director of IICA.
“Agri-food trade, especially from the perspective of Latin American and Caribbean countries, plays a strategic role in global food security, especially when thinking about the post-pandemic period”, added Otero.
Analysts state in the document that regulations, such as sustainability standards, access restrictions or domestic aid measures, must be transparent and aligned with WTO principles to avoid discretionary applications and discriminatory practices.
They also mention that information transparency is essential to access and develop new markets, especially under increasing environmental scrutiny; and that effective access to markets is fundamental, not only for the development of agro-exporting countries (which prioritize this topic in their development agendas), but also for importing countries, as a means to guarantee food security and connect the main suppliers to buyers in regions facing food shortages.
Furthermore, they argue that the growth strategy of Latin American and Caribbean countries could be affected by what happens at the WTO; Therefore, it is of crucial importance to actively contribute to its modernization and prioritize its success, as part of its commercial and foreign policies.
It is the international organization specialized in agriculture in the Inter-American System. Its mission is to stimulate, promote and support the efforts of its 34 Member States to achieve agricultural development and rural well-being through excellent international technical cooperation.
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