WTO Agriculture Negotiations and Sustainable Development

As WTO Members start preparing for the next Ministerial Conference (MC13), the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) are organizing a series of webinars to bring insights from the research community on how WTO rules on agricultural trade could better contribute to food security and environmental sustainability, as envisaged in the preamble of the WTO Agriculture Agreement.

IISD and IFPRI will convene WTO negotiators, capital-based officials, and independent experts to discuss how to mainstream sustainable development objectives into areas of the WTO Agriculture Negotiations that have gained renewed momentum in the runup to MC13, including Domestic Support, PSH, and Export Restrictions.

WEBINARS' DESCRIPTION

• Webinar 1: Domestic Support Rules to Promote Food Security, Climate Action, and Healthier Diets.

Wednesday, September 27, 2023 (1:30–2:45 p.m. CET).

This webinar will explore how WTO Agriculture Negotiations on Domestic Support can promote sustainable development objectives, such as food security, climate action, and healthier diets while addressing negative impacts on production and trade. The webinar will bring together agricultural trade experts to discuss ideas proposed in the current negotiations, including (i) caps to the "Green Box" category of subsidies allowed under the Agreement on Agriculture and (ii) reductions of product-specific support, especially support that is highly concentrated in emissions-intensive products (e.g., beef, milk, and rice) or unhealthy food commodities such as sugar.

• Webinar 2: PSH Rules to Promote Food Security of All WTO Members.

Thursday, September 28, 2023 (1:30–2:45 p.m. CET).

This webinar will explore how new approaches to PSH can promote domestic food security while limiting harmful impacts on trading partners. Discussions will focus on (i) updating the fixed external reference price (FERP) to calculate market price support for PSH programs, (ii) who can use PSH programs, i.e., all developing countries versus just a subset of them, and (iii) options to consider when negotiating a permanent solution on PSH at MC13.

• Webinar 3: Export Restrictions Rules to Promote Global Food Security in the Context of Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events.

Friday, September 29, 2023 (1:30–2:45 p.m. CET).

This webinar will explore how WTO Agriculture Negotiations on Export Restrictions can limit the impacts of these trade-restrictive measures on the food security of trading partners, especially those that are least'developed countries (LDCs) or net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs). The webinar will bring together agricultural trade and climate experts to discuss the extent to which different approaches reflected in recent proposals on export restrictions promote global food security in the context of climate change and extreme weather events.

This is a closed activity for WTO delegates and capital-based officials. Exceptions only apply to WTO staff.