JOB/AG/166  
 
17 October 2019  
(19-6781) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Agriculture  
Special Session    
 
REPORT BY AMB. J. R.  D. (DEEP) FORD, CHA IR OF THE COA SPECIA L SESSION,  
TO THE INFORMAL TNC AND HODS MEETING  
14 OCTOBER  2019 
1.   There are two words that are more important than all the other words in my report this morning. 
Those two words are: one, priority; and the second, phasing.  
 
2.   As announced at the last informal meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee on 19 July 2019, 
I circulated as envisaged my Report entitled "Working Towards Doable Elements for Meaningful 
Outcomes" on 31 July 2019.  
 
3.   The purpose of the Report was to summarize the various suggestions and ideas put forward by 
Members, to pose questions to assist in focus ing the negotiations in order to identify steps towards 
possible initial meaningful landing zones.   
 
4.   Members had the opportunity to respond to my 31 July Report at the last meeting of the Co A 
Special Session and at the Dedicated Sessions on Public Stockho lding for Food Security Purposes  
(PSH)  and Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) held on 26 September 2019.  
 
5.   At the September CoA  Special Session  meeting, two new submissions were introduced, one on 
"Complex tariffs" by the United States and a revised proposal  on Cotton by the C4.  
 
6.   The discussions continue to confirm that Domestic Support remains the priority issue for the 
majority of Members and that there is growing interest by some Members on various Market Access 
issues. The exchanges on PSH, SSM, Export R estrictions and Export Competition also generally 
confirmed past positions.  
 
7.   Regarding Cotton, on 7 October I chaired the High -Level Trade Session on Cotton on World 
Cotton Day. The meeting was attended by and received interventions from Ministers from Ben in, 
Burkina Faso, Chad and Brazil as well as Heads of Delegations and representatives from China, the 
United States, India, the European Union, Cote d 'Ivoire and Mali.  
 
8.   As might be recalled, I had expressed the hope that the World Cotton Day would constitu te a 
galvanizing moment that would help us to make some small step forward in the negotiations.  
 
9.   This objective was partly fulfilled. The participants in this Session issued at the end of the 
meeting a Joint Statement which has been circulated in document JOB/AG/165 -TN/AG/SCC/GEN/21.  
 
10.   It confirms the commitment of the participants, and I am convinced it is shared by all Members, 
to intensify discussions focusing on factors negatively impacting Cotton trade and markets and to 
continue efforts aimed at enhan cing transparency and monitoring of Cotton -related trade measures 
affecting the global Cotton market.  
 
11.   In my view, this Joint Statement constitutes a small but significant first step in this phase of 
our work.  
 
12.   Let me also take this opportunity to congra tulate the C4, the WTO and its partners for the 
organization of a very successful WTO launch of World Cotton Day, which served to remind the global 
Cotton community that Cotton is a key part of the WTO's work and of our  Members' commitment to 
deliver both trade and development -oriented outcomes, especially for LDCs .   JOB/AG/166  
 
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13.   Of course, this statement on the Cotton negotiations does not conceal the fact that divergences 
remain amongst Members on what kind of outcome can be envisaged on Cotton by MC12.  
 
14.   This assessment also applies to the other topics under negotiations.  
 
15.   As stressed in my July Report, it is now  time to address some fundamental questions on each 
topic under the agriculture negotiations. It is now the time to prioritize and phase elements on which 
options can be examined for possible agreement.  
 
16.   From all that I hear , it is not conceivable to have outcomes on all the elements of all the 
negotiating issues in the agriculture file. Some issues need to be prioritized and phased for a 
meaningful outcome at MC 12 and some issues will be addressed post -MC12. The phasing woul d not 
necessarily reflect importance of the element but rather complexity of work needed and doability in 
a limited time period. We will have to work together as Members  to see how soon we can agree on 
which elements and when they should be dealt with.     
 
17.   The clock is ticking; the next meeting of the CoA Special Session is scheduled on 28 and 
29 October to be followed by the last meeting of the year tentatively scheduled for 26 and 
27 November,  including Dedicated Sessions on PSH and SSM as mandated.  
 
18.   Those two CoA  Special Session  meetings in October and November will take us to the end of 
the year ; we will then be only five (5)  months away from MC12.  
 
19.   We have repeated and should recall daily that one of the main lessons from MC11 was that we 
must work to complete our work before the Ministerial so as not to run out of time at the Ministerial.  
 
20.   Our objective, in the agricultural negotiations, should be to have a document outlining clear 
options for the probable doable elements by the end of the year.  
 
21.   I therefore strongly encourage Members currently working on submissions  to increase the 
intensity of their work and circulate these submissions in the form of options to be considered for 
an outcome, including descriptions that advance greater understanding of  the special situations. We 
need these submissions in the coming days in advance of the October CoA Special Session.  
 
22.   I also urge Members to be proactive, innovative and flexible and to engage with each other in 
a constructive manner before the next CoA S pecial Session and share with the Membership at the 
next CoA Special Session meeting the results of their consultations aimed at bridging gaps.  
 
23.   I will continue my own consultations with Members in several formats. I remain committed to 
finding a path tha t takes us to a meaningful outcome by MC12.  
 
 
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