JOB/AG/146  
 
19 October 2018  
(18-6557) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Agriculture  
Special Session    
 
REPORT BY AMB. J. R. D. (DEEP) FO RD, CHAIR OF THE COA SP ECIAL SESSION,  
TO THE INFORMAL TNC AND HOD S MEETING  
16 OCTOBER 2018  
1. I would like to make a brief report on the state of play in the agriculture negotiations.  
 
2. During my last report to the informal meeting of the Trade Negotiation Committee on 24 July, 
I announced my plan to hold issues -specific agriculture negotiation meetings on a monthly basis. 
The schedule of these meetings was circulated to Members on 27 Jul y.   
 
3. As per the announced schedule, on 20 -21 September I held a first set of thematic sessions 
dedicated to Domestic Support, Public Stockholding  for Food Security Purposes,  and Cotton. The 
sessions on 22 -23 October will be dedicated to Market Access and SSM, and on 15 -16 November to 
Export Competition and Export restrictions. Before the December break we will also return to some 
of the issues previously addressed in September and October. The sessions scheduled for 
6-7 December will end with a stocktaking  and the way forward post  the end of the year  break.  
 
4. The plan is that by December we can at least signal , if not in fact start , a transition from 
situational analysis to position evaluation leading towards an assessment of opportunities for 
outcomes. I al so intend to convene additional consultations in different formats when needed to 
complement these meetings.  
 
5. We will continue to provide Members with an opportunity to engage in technical and interactive 
discussions based on Members' existing and new subm issions, and on all ideas, suggestions, 
propositions independently from their source. The ultimate goal of these discussions is to help 
Members take decisions grounded on solid information so that proposals can be more definitive  in 
seeking probable common  ground for an outcome.  
 
6. I will now turn to the report on the three thematic sessions held in September.  
 
7. The first CoA S pecial Session  meeting was dedicated to Domestic Support . Two delegations 
(Australia and Canada) responded to my request for new submis sions and clarification of existing 
ones and made presentations. Both pr esentations looked at the trade -distorting domestic support 
and Green Box, but from different angles. The first one looked at the evolution of support under 
different boxes, while the second focused on the evolution of support by category (such as AMS, 
product -specific de minimis , and non -product -specific de minimis ). Canada also introduced its 
current work on product -specific support.   
 
8. I am happy to report that I was very satisfied w ith the level of engagement. I believe that we 
advanced our understanding of the evolution of domestic support; and appreciated the different 
approaches that can be used to analyse and interpret data with different conclusions being drawn. 
The divergent po ints of views generated a genuine debate on substance and data and injected new 
energy into the debate on domestic support.  
 
9. The Domestic S upport session was focused and fruitful. While strong views were expressed, 
there was some increased flexibility to consider all proposals on the table. There was a genuine 
debate based on recent submissions and more submissions are expected in the near fu ture. But we 
need more than energy and engagement to succeed, we need commitment to seek and find common 
ground on the issues.  JOB/AG/146  
 
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10. The second session was dedicated to Public Stockholding  for Food Security Purposes .   
 
11. No presentation or new submission was ma de in this meeting. The G33 , supported by many 
other developing country Members, called for a permanent solution to be found by MC12.   
 
12. Broadly, Members repeated positions , with the proponents calling for a permanent solution 
applicable to all programmes and to all developing Members without burdensome transparency 
requirements, and the non -proponents requesting more information on the need for a permanent 
solution . One pote ntial positive emerged  and that was  a greater recognition that "technical 
conversations" on PSH are needed. In sum, PSH remains difficult ; the difference in emphasis on the 
"what" (addressing an agreed mandate) versus the "why" (the need) is still there.  
 
13. The third session was dedicated to Cotton .   
 
14. I can report positive developments. First, there was a communication by the Uni ted States on 
the situation on C otton circulated in document JOB/AG/144, which will need to be discussed in 
further detail. Second , the need for updated information and data on Cotton Domestic Support was 
again stressed by the C4 and other participants. The C4 reported on a recent questionnaire they 
circulated and on replies received so far from key Cotton producers and exporters. Th e Secretariat 
might also help in the compilation of a common set of data to inform the negotiation. Third, some 
Members expressed their readiness to lo ok into incremental options on C otton.  
 
Next steps  
15. Consultations will continue at all levels and on all themes during and in -between the monthly 
thematic sessions.   
 
16. My two current objectives are to : (i) continue to pursue the technical exchange that can help 
informing the negotiation process , and (ii) facilitate a t ransition to a process whereby M embers ca n 
table probable options for which incremental outcomes can be negotiated.   
 
17. This process shall be mainly based on Members' submissions and data transmitted by them. 
It is encouraging to note in this regard that several new submissions are expected.  
 
 
 
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