. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/AG/NG/W/112
13 February 2001
(01-0660)
Committee on Agriculture
Special SessionOriginal:  English/
French
FIFTH SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
5-7 FEBRUARY 2001
Statement by Canada
G/AG/NG/W/92  (Presentation of Proposal on Domestic Support)
Canada is pleased to present this proposal on domestic support.
In September, Canada joined with the Cairns Group in presenting a proposal on domestic
support (G/AG/NG/W/35) which addressed a number of Canada's objectives on this subject.
Canada would like to propose two additional ideas.First, Canada proposes that the negotiations on domestic support include discussion of an
overall limit or cap on all types of domestic support to ensure that the reform programme reducesinequities.  Canada envisages that an overall limit or cap on all types of support would work together
with a formula that would provide for major reductio ns in trade-distorting support.  This would ensure
that the reform programme encourages replacement of trade-distorting with non-distorting support
and also prevents overall increases in support levels.
Canada believes that the distinction made in the Uruguay Round between support that distorts
production and trade, on the one hand, and non-distor ting or minimally distorting support, on the
other, is a valuable one.  We believe that governments can and should use non-distorting policies to
achieve their policy objectives.  However, we also  think it is important for the credibility of the
reform programme that the total level of support to agriculture should be subject to some upper limit,
so that a dollar of AMS is not replaced with ten dollars of spending under other programmes
worsening the inequities that already exist between countries that can afford extremely high levels ofsupport and those that have more limited means.
Second, Canada proposes that support meeting Annex 2 criteria should be permanently
recognized as not countervailable.  In these negotiations, we support a review of the Green Box
criteria in light of experience, and taking into account the needs of Members, including developingcountries, to deal with domestic policy issues.  The review should seek to ensure that Green Box
measures genuinely do not distort production or trade.
Canada believes that if programmes in the green category do not cause material distortions in
production, then it follows logically that they will not cause material injury to producers in importingcountries.  In that case, the current rules of GATT Article VI and the Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures would prevent such programmes from being subject to countervailing
duties.
These proposals are part of Canada's overall approach to these negotiations, which calls for
levelling the playing field through:G/AG/NG/W/112
Page 2
- the elimination of export subsidies
- the maximum possible reduction in trade-distorting support and
- real and substantial improvements in market access for all agriculture and food
products.
We look forward to more detailed discussions of these ideas on domestic support, together
with the other ideas we have put forward to achie ve our objectives, over the course of the coming
year.
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