Agricultural Trade: How Bad Is the WTO for Development?

Abstract

On the face of it, many developing countries, even least developed ones, seem to be doing just fine in terms of agricultural production and trade expansion. This paper cannot answer the question whether the present multilateral rules framework strengthens or imperils resource-poor countries and farmers. Instead, it describes a ‘reform programme’ which is far from being completed, and it shows where the ‘development promises’ of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) remain unfulfilled. Based on the experiences with the Uruguay Round, it argues that even the completion of the Doha Development Round is likely to fail to address some specific concerns of net food-importing developing countries (NFIDC) and resource-poor farmers. A number of additional specific commitments by developed and emerging economies are required to fulfil the promise “to establish a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system”.