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TN/AG/R/25  
 
1 May 2018  
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Committee on Agriculture  
Special Session    
 
SUMMARY REPORT OF TH E THIRTY -EIGHTH  FORMAL SPECIAL SESSI ON 
OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE  HELD ON 9 APRIL 2018  
NOTE BY THE SECRETAR IAT1 
The Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture, established by the General Council 
(WT/GC/M/53), is pursuing negotiations under paragraphs 13, 14 and other relevant provisions of 
the Doha Ministerial Declaration. The 3 8th Formal Special Session was held on 9 April 2018 . 
The agenda as contained in WTO/AIR/TN/AG/2 of 26 March 2018  was adopted.  
ELECTION OF THE CHAIR PERSON  
1.  WTO Deputy Director -General Ambassador Alan Wolff  opened the 3 8th Formal Special Session 
of the Committee on Agriculture in the absence of the previous Chairman, Ambassador  Stephen 
Ndũn'gũ Karau , from Kenya . 
2.  Deputy Director -General  Ambassador Alan W olff recalled that in a fax to Members on 
13 March  2018, the Chairman of the General Council informed Members of the emerging 
consensus on the appointment of Ambassador John Ronald Dipchandra (Deep) Ford of Guyana as 
the new Chairperson of the Special Sess ion of the Committee on Agriculture, which also covers the 
Chairmanship of the Sub -Committee on Cotton.   
3.  The Chairman of the General Council had stated that should there not be any comment or 
objection to the proposed appointment by Thursday, 15 March 2018 , Ambassador Ford would be 
deemed to have been duly appointed as the new Chair person of the Special Session of the 
Committee on Agriculture . 
4.  It was proposed therefore  that in light of the consensus among Members, the Special Session 
formally appoints Ambassador John Ronald Dipchandra (Deep) Ford as the new Chairperson of the 
Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture and the Sub -Committee on Cotton. It was so 
agreed. 
5.  In accepting his new appointment, Ambassador Ford thanked Members for their support in 
electing him as Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session. He noted  that his  
responsibilities also cover ed the dedicated sessions on Public Stockho lding for Food Security 
Purposes and on the Special Safeguard Mechanism for developing country Members, as well as the 
dedicated discussions on cotton.  
6.  Ambassador Ford express ed his sincere appreciation to his  prede cessor, Ambassador Karau  
from Kenya, who had invested all his energy and wisdom into guiding Members in the agriculture 
negotiations in the run up to the Buenos Aires Ministerial Conference.  
7.  He noted how challenging the role of Chairman could be, as he had personally been involved in 
the agricult ure negotiations first as an FAO officer between 2005 and 2008 and more recently  as 
the represent ative of Guyana and as the ACP coordinator. The agriculture negotiations we re 
                                                
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  TN/AG/R/25  
 
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  complex, not only because of the very technical nature of the issues, but also be cause of the wide 
range of views, differing interests and priorities of the 164 WTO members.  
8.  The Chairman said that he came from one of the smallest WTO Members,  Guyana, which like 
the rest of CARICOM, wa s a small developin g and vulnerable economy  open and  highly dependent 
on trade. Small economies in the Caribbea n, many of whom we re classified as middle and high 
income countries, greatly understoo d the importance of trade and increasing access to markets. 
Trade was what accounted  for their pro sperity. The extension of this, of course, was their immense 
appreciation of the value of a rules -based, reliable and predictable trading system.  
9.  It was  therefore not surprising that Guyana had signed in Buenos Aires the Presidential 
Declaration that reaffirmed that multilateralism is the optimal medium to take advantage of the 
opportunities offered by international trade and to address any challenges associated with it.   
10.  The Chairman said that he was  aware that much reflection was needed on what happened  
during 2017, in particular in Buenos Aires.  
11.  Notwithstanding  Members' inability to agree on a post -MC11 work programme, there wa s a 
clear convergence of views on the need to advance negotiations  on all three pillars of agriculture, 
namely domestic support, market access and export competition .   
12.  The is sue that needed to be addressed most urgently wa s how to restart and advance work in 
the CoA Special Session, both in terms of process and substanc e. 
13.  The Chairman said that he had been advised that it would not be advisable to rush int o 
intensive series of negotiations and that there should be a reflection period  before beginning work 
on the negotiations. Some Members cautioned that the reflection pe riod should not be used to 
inhibit discussions. He stated that he was open to hearing the views of delegations on the way 
forward. In that regard, he would be interested in meeting with delegations and group 
coordinators which wished to share their perspec tives on the way forward.  
14.  The Chairman stated that he would like to focus on the following  four key elements  during his 
consultations with Members : 
a. lessons learnt from the pre -Buenos Aires and at Buenos Aires process;  
b. how best to engage in the negotiation s going forward ; 
c. possible timelines for reflection, consultations, negotiations and outcomes ; and  
d.  priorities of your respective delegations .  
15.  He said that the  period of consultations should not be seen as a standstill period , but rather a 
dynamic period of listening to each other and collectively exploring alternative process options. 
The main goal was  to put the negotiations on a firmer footing and ens ure that substantive 
progress would be  made towards reaching results that w ould accommodate the interests of all 
Members.  
16.  He noted that there was agreement among Members that it could not  be business as usual.  
17.  There was a need to be creative and innovative and n ot repeat past mistakes, and  to have 
frank and constructive discussions bearing in mind th e interests of all Members.  
18.  The Chairman expressed the  hope that by working collectively and intensively together in the 
period  ahead, Members would be  able to address each other's concerns and  eventually reach an 
agreement that would contribute to the establishment of a fairer and more market -oriented 
agriculture trading system and enhance the food security of all countries.  
19.  The results of the initial consultations with interested delegations would  determine when  
meetings of the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture  might  be scheduled . It was  the 
Chair's  intention, however, to convene at least one informal meeting before the summer break to TN/AG/R/25  
 
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  report on his  consultations and give Members  the opportunity to also report on their activities 
aimed at facilitating progress in the negotiations.    
20.  The Chair highlighted that his  role would be that of a facilitator and  that he would be counting 
on Members'  positive coo peration to  find together a path forward.   
21.  Like his predecessors, the Chair emphasized that he was firmly committed to the principles of 
inclusiveness and transparency .  
22.  The Chairman concluded  by re stating his interest for new approaches, new pathways to new 
positions, or old positions with new insights and new evidence. It was a new beginning and his  
challenge t o the Members was to  again demonstrat e that they could agree in Geneva on rules  that 
would contribute to increasin g trade and enhancing the welfare of our countries.  
23.  He urged Members to join him  in dreaming more than others thought was  practical and 
expecting more than others t hought was  possible. This approach was his  point of departure  and he 
was looking forward to  meeting with delegations in a near future.  
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