./.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/370
13 October 1999
(99-4351)
General Council Original:  English
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1999 MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Agreement on Agriculture
Communication from Jamaica
The following communication, dated 5 October 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Jamaica.
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Introduction
1. CARICOM countries have faithfully sought  to implement the commitments under the
Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. The Agreement on Agriculture has led to some
improvements in the environment for trade in agricultural products. Notwithstanding, CARICOM
generally, has been disappointed by the limited market access opportunities for many agricultural
products of export interest. For many developing countries, CARICOM countries included, improving
market access opportunities, while simultaneously maintaining "flexibility" in certain well defined
commitments would offer a greater sense of bala nce between the lot of developed and developing
WTO Members.
2. Special consideration should also be given to States such as Jamaica, which have undertaken
significant trade policy reform in their agricultural sectors, outside of and prior to the process of
liberalization introduced by WTO.
Market accessBackground
3. In spite of some progress in tariff liberalization, developing countries' agricultural exports
continue to experience significant obstacles, particularly in the form of tariff peaks and tariff
escalation.  While many of the concerns relate more directly to other WTO Agreements (SPS, TBT),in many respects these Agreements are interrelated  with the Agreement on Agriculture, and together,
contribute to the concerns regarding developing countries trade in agricultural products.
Proposal
4. WTO Members should agree to the targeted reduction of tariff escalation and tariff peaks. In
eliminating tariff peaks a "formula approach" should be applied which accelerates the reduction in
high tariffs relative to more moderate and lower tariffs.WT/GC/W/370
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5. WTO Members should also agree on a range of measures that would improve market access
opportunities for developing and least-developed country Members. This range of measures should be
targeted in areas where developing countries have an actual or potential export interest.
Special safeguard clauseBackground
6. The Special Safeguard provisions were introduced as a package with tariffication during the
UR negotiations. Many developing countries, however, presently do not have recourse to the use of
the special safeguard provisions. These provisions were included in the Agreement on Agriculture to
address concerns that tariffication would bring about a massive increase of imports and a decrease in
the price of domestic goods.
Proposal
7. The current Agreement on Agriculture acknowledges that the special safeguard provision can
be maintained as long as the reform process continues.
8. Consistent with the proposals from developing countries on S&D treatment that attempt to
accommodate flexibility in their commitments, recourse to the special safeguard provision should be
extended to certain developing countries for the duration of the reform process.
9. A special safeguard mechanism for developing countries that is relatively simple and
inexpensive to invoke continues to be essential to rendering liberalization acceptable among
developing countries. Such a mechanism will cons titute an important element of the special and
differential provisions for the developing countries, particularly as it relates to their food security and
genuine non-trade concerns.
Domestic support
Background
10. Weak disciplines in the area of domestic supports and in particular, with the operation of the
"Green Box", suggests the need for strict monitoring  to determine whether or not programs satisfy the
eligibility criterion of being production- and trade-neutral.  Developing countries have had serious
concerns that increases in certain categories of domestic support programs by some WTO Members
may be leading to increased production and increase competition on import/export markets.
Proposal
11. Members agree on stricter disciplines being placed on the use of  "Green Box" supports to
ensure that they retain their intended "non-production distorting" and "non-trade distorting" feature.
12. As indicated in WT/GC/W/120 and WT/GC/W/152, WTO Members should afford
developing countries adequate flexibility in the use of domestic support programs pursuant toparticular national development objectives such as: poverty alleviation, marketing and transportation
and compliance with quality as well as sanitary and phytosanitary regulations.
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