WT/GC/249  
 
12 May 2022  
(22-3736) Page: 1/4 
General Council  Original: English  
 
 
ACTIONS BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN SUPPORT  
OF GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
The following communication, dated 12 May 2022, is being circulated at the request of the delegation  
of the United States.  
 
_______________  
 
1  OVERVIEW  
1.1.  Recent increases in food prices and growing food and fertilizer shortages threaten to increase 
hunger and malnutrition, destabilize fragile societies, drive migration and cause severe economic 
dislocation.  Supply c hain disruptions related to the COVID -19 pandemic, conflict and climate change 
were already creating unprecedented pressures on global food systems.  The Russian Federation’s 
unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine is now further disrupting the suppl y and access of 
food commodities, such as grains, oilseeds and oils, and key agricultural inputs, including energy 
commodities and fertilizer, that are critical to global food security.  
1.2.  The most vulnerable feel the burden of food insecurity most heavily.  According to the World 
Food Programme (WFP), 811 million people go hungry every night, and the number of those facing 
acute food insecurity has more than doubled – from 135 million to 276 million – since 2019.  The 
Center for Global Development recently proj ected that the Russian Federation’s war in Ukraine could 
push up to 40 million more people into poverty and hunger by the end of 2022.  
1.3.  The United States is working closely with our allies and partners to mitigate growing food 
insecurity and boost long -term global food systems resilience.  
2  MAINTAINING OPEN AND PREDICTABLE MARKETS  
2.1.  Even in times of crisis, the United States continues to formulate and implement agricultural 
trade policies in a manner consistent with its WTO obligations and maintains open and pre dictable 
markets for global farmers and consumers to mitigate global food insecurity .  
2.2.  The United States is conducting extensive diplomacy to encourage countries to refrain from or 
remove unjustified export restrictions, quotas, excessive stockpiling of agricultural commodities and 
other actions that can exacerbate global food insecurity.  Export restrictions on agricultural products 
were an important contributing factor to the global food crisis in 2008 -101. 
2.3.  The United States closely monit ors markets affecting the food system, including futures 
markets, to ensure full transparency and shares reliable data and information on global food market 
developments, especially through the relevant international organizations.  We encourage wide 
partic ipation in the Agricultural Market Information System and timely sharing of supply and demand 
data by leading countries to enhance food market transparency and policy response for food security.  
 
1 Paolo E. Giordani, Nadia Rocha & Michele Ruta, Food Prices and the Multiplier Effect of Export Policy,  
WTO Staff Working Paper ERSD -2012-08 (2012), 
https://www.wto.org/english/res_e /reser_e/ersd201208_e.pdf  WT/GC/249  
 
- 2 - 
 
  We discourage any speculative behavior that threatens food se curity or access to food for vulnerable 
countries or populations . 
2.4.  Dozens of ships, including those carrying food shipments bound for countries in the Middle East 
and Africa, have been trapped by hostilities in Ukraine.  The United States and our allies are working 
through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to increase pressure on the Russian 
Federation to establish safe corridors for shipping and we are working with others to explore 
alternative transportation routes.  We built international suppor t for the March 11, 2022, IMO Council 
Decision and the April 28, 2022, resolution of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, so stranded ships 
laden with aging agricultural cargoes can get to their intended destinations and food can reach those 
who need it most. We will continue building support for these efforts . 
3  HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE  
3.1.  The United States remains the largest single donor of humanitarian and long -term food security 
development assistance. We are mobilizing billions of dollars in additional funding for humanitarian 
organizations at the front lines of responding to the current food security challenges.  
3.2.  On March 24, 2022, the United States announced that we are prepared to provide more than 
$1 billion in new funding towards humani tarian assistance for those affected by the Russian 
Federation’s war in Ukraine and its severe impacts around the world, including a marked rise in food 
insecurity, over the coming months.  This funding will provide food, shelter, clean water, medical 
suppl ies and other forms of assistance.  U.S. funding amounts to more than $1 billion to vulnerable 
communities in the region since the Russian Federation first invaded Ukraine eight years ago, 
including more than $688 million announced since the full -scale inva sion began in February 2022 . 
3.3.  On April 28, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Agency for 
International Development (USAID) announced they will use $282 million from the Bill Emerson 
Humanitarian Trust to procure U.S. food commoditi es to bolster existing emergency food operations 
in six countries facing severe food insecurity: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and 
Yemen.  USDA will provide $388 million in additional funding to cover ocean freight transportation, 
inland tran sport, internal transport, shipping and handling, and other associated costs . 
3.4.  The United States was instrumental in creating the WFP in the 1960s and remains the largest 
single donor to the organization today.  In the first four months of 2022, the United S tates has 
donated more than $1.5 billion, accounting for 44 percent of all donor contributions, to the 
organization.  Recognizing the critical humanitarian support provided by the WFP, made more urgent 
in light of effects of the invasion of Ukraine, the COV ID-19 pandemic and other factors, the United 
States is also one of 56 WTO Members that is committed not to impose export prohibitions or 
restrictions on foodstuffs purchased for non -commercial humanitarian purposes by the WFP . 
3.5.  The United States intends to invest $5 billion, over the next five years, in Feed the Future 
(FTF), the U.S. Government’s flagship initiative to reduce poverty, hunger and malnutrition.  FTF 
increases the productivity of smallholder farmers, including women, through access to improved 
agricultural technologies and inputs, financing and markets; strengthens agricultural market 
systems by building a vibrant private sector; and increases people’s access to higher -quality diets 
and safer foods for improved nutrition.  Currently  funded at mor e than $1 billion per year, FTF has 
existing technical expertise, programs and partners in more than 40 countries that are working to 
mitigate the impacts of the latest challenges to global food security . 
4  BUILDING RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS FOR  FOOD SECURITY  
4.1  Food security through innovation and sustainable productivity growth  
4.1.  The United States remains steadfast in our commitment to build sustainable, resilient, inclusive 
and nutritious food systems in line with the objectives of the United Natio ns (UN) Sustainable 
Development Goals, the UN 2030 Agenda and the outcome of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.  
We have a range of investments to develop and implement more climate -smart agricultural 
innovations that contribute to building sustainable and re silient agricultural sectors and food 
systems . WT/GC/249  
 
- 3 - 
 
  4.2.  The United States continues to invest in climate -smart agricultural practices that contribute to 
resilient and sustainable food and agricultural systems, including innovative technologies that 
advance sustaina ble productivity -growth and mitigate risks to production.  USDA invests in 
innovative research, tools and partnerships to deliver farmer -focused solutions that increase climate 
resilience, strengthen food and nutrition security, sequester carbon, enhance ag ricultural 
productivity and maintain critical environmental services. This includes major investments in 
research and education, risk management tools, farmer -capacity -building, and incentives to adopt 
and scale production -practices that build resilience t o climate and supply -chain shocks.  In addition, 
over the last five years, USAID invested more than $650 million in programs that helped 
communities adapt to the effects of climate change.  Over the past 10 years, USAID assisted 
12 million people to use weather and climate data to cope, manage and adapt to climate impact .   
4.3.  Innovative and creative solutions are necessary for food systems to keep pace with evolving 
needs and challenges, in order to enhance the health of the planet and the wellbeing of curr ent and 
future generations.  Recognizing the importance of productivity -growth to meeting current and future 
food and nutrition needs, the United States launched the global Sustainable Productivity Growth 
Coalition as part of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit .  
4.2  Donor coordination and food systems resiliency  
4.4.  The United States plans to focus on food security during its presidency of the UN Security 
Council i n May 2022.  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host the “Global Food Security Call 
to Action” in -person at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on May 18, 2022. We are 
bringing together expert food -security and humanitarian -assistance voices from UN -specialized 
agencies with a diverse group of current and potential donor countries, includi ng countries 
particularly affected by food insecurity linked to the impacts of the Russian Federation’s invasion of 
Ukraine . 
4.5.  On April 19, 2022, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen hosted an event, “Tackling 
Food Insecurity: The Challenge and Ca ll to Action,” with the leadership of the International Monetary 
Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), during the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the WBG 
to highlight the response of the international financial institutions to meet the urgent needs of 
developing countries.  The United States calls on the multilateral development banks to bolster social 
safety nets to help the poorest people cope with rising food prices and to help the poorest farmers 
cope with decreased incomes if production is hampered,  while scaling up cash and food transfers, 
nutrition -sensitive programs, and risk -management and capacity -building programs to help 
vulnerable farmers build production -resilience to climate -change issues and supply -chain 
disruptions . 
4.6.  The United States, alo ng with the United Arab Emirates, has also launched the Agriculture 
Innovation Mission for Climate, which seeks to address climate change and global hunger by uniting 
participants to significantly increase investment in, and other support for, climate -smart agriculture 
and food systems innovation over five years (2021 – 2025).  As of April 2022, more than $4 billion 
in newly committed investment has been mobilized by a coalition of 180 government and non -
government partners .  
4.7.  The United States, through the Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) High -Level Policy 
Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology, continues to host workshops that support the use of 
innovative tools, technologies and approaches in enabling sustainable agricultural systems.  
Coordinating with other APEC economies, the United States is developing an implementation plan 
for the APEC Food Security Roadmap to 2030.  
4.3  Multilateral investments for small farmers and poor countries  
4.8.  The United States has been the largest cumulative donor  to multilateral funds, such as the 
International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Global Agriculture and Food Security 
Program, whose activities increase smallholder farmer productivity.  These investments protect 
vulnerable populations against fu ture food shocks by boosting domestic food production, improving 
domestic infrastructure, and providing logistical support and innovation needed to cultivate, store 
and distribute food.  The United States encourages other donors to increase support for mult ilateral 
entities that invest in longer -term food systems resilience . WT/GC/249  
 
- 4 - 
 
  5  CONCLUSION  
5.1.  We will continue our close cooperation with our allies and partners, including WTO Members, 
to respond to current global food insecurity challenges, including those exacerbate d by the Russian 
Federation’s unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, as well as to build long -term food 
systems resilience and global food security . 
5.2.  The United States encourages all countries, including WTO Members, to help meet this global 
challeng e by: 1) contributing new and additional funding and commodity donations to humanitarian 
organizations; 2) collaborating to ease disruptions in food and fertilizer markets; 3) refraining from 
unjustified export prohibitions or restrictions, or other harmfu l or trade -distorting practices that 
contribute to food insecurity and 4) engaging with the international financial institutions and other 
multilateral agencies to increase food security, strengthen social safety nets and protect the poor . 
 
__________