RESTRICTED  
  
G/AG/R/84  
 
8 May 2017 
(17-2483) Page: 1/7 
Committee on Agriculture    
 
SUMMARY REPORT OF TH E MEETING HELD ON 27 MARCH  2017 
NOTE BY THE SECRETAR IAT1 
The Committee on Agriculture held its eighty -third (83rd) regular meeting on 27 March  2017 under 
the Chairmanship of Mr Garth Ehrhardt of Canada . 
 
The agenda of the meeting as set  out in WTO/AIR/AG/ 19 was adopted with the following 
modifications:  
 
 Part 1 (Review Process):  
 Article 18.6:  
 Co-sponsorship by New Zealand of the questions raised by the United States 
regarding  Canada's new m ilk ingredient class (AG IMS ID  83039)  and Canada 's wine 
sale policy (AG IMS ID  83041) . 
 Part II (Other matters within the purview of the Committee) : 
 Report on the status of rice tariffication by the Philippines.   
1  THE REVIEW PROCESS  
1.1  Matters relevant to the implementation of commitments under the reform 
programme: Article 18.6  
1.1.  The 29 implementation -related issues raised as well as the responses provided and follow -up 
exchanges are compiled in section 1 of document G/AG/ W/161. These relate to:  
a. Australia's wine equalization tax (raised by the European Union ); 
b. Canada's Agri -Marketing Program  (raised by Indonesia ); 
c. Egypt's new regulations (raised by  Indonesia ); 
d. United Kingdom's m odification of agricultural schedule of commitments (raised 
by Indonesia ); 
e. European Union's support for livestock sector (raised by New Zealand ); 
f. India's minimum support price for wheat  (raised by Australia ); 
g. India's minimum price for sugar cane in Uttar Pradesh  (raised by the European Union);  
h. India's trade statistics  (raised by the United  States ); 
i. India's buffer stocks of pulses (raised by Canada ); 
j. India's support price for Rabi crops  (raised by the European Union ); 
k. Indonesia's draft regulation on supply and distribution of milk products  (raised by the 
European U nion); 
                                                
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.  G/AG/R/84  
 
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  l. Japan's mark -up on imported rice  (raised by China ); 
m. Russia's higher ap plied tariffs than bound rates  (raised by the European Union ); 
n. Thailand's import permits for feed wheat  (raised by Australia, the European Union and 
the United States ); 
o. Thailand's financial assistance to fruit farmers  (raised by the United States ); 
p. U.S. Fe deral Milk Marketing Order (FMMO)  (raised by Canada ); 
q. Brazil's domestic support programmes (raised by the United States ); 
r. Canada's New Milk Ingredient Class (raised by Australia, the European Union, New 
Zealand and the United States ); 
s. Canada's wine sale po licy (raised by Australia, the European Union, New Zealand  and 
the United States ); 
t. Canada's tariff -rate quota for cheese  (raised by New Zealand, Norway and 
Switzerland );  
u. Canada's market price support for dairy products (raised by New Zealand ); 
v. India's min imum support price for Kharif crops  (raised by Canada and the United 
States);  
w. India's importation of apples  (raised by New Zealand) ; 
x. India's sugar export subsidies  (raised by Australia);  
y. India's wheat stocks and exports  (raised by the United States);  
z. Switz erland's export subsidy budget  (raised by New Zealand);  
aa. Thailand's rice policies  (raised by the United States);  
bb. Turkey's subsidies aimed at incentivising the use of domestic dairy  (raised by 
New Zealand)  and 
cc. Zambia's public stocks and exports of maize  (raised by the European Union).  
1.1.1   Review of Notifications  
1.2.  The Chairperson informed Members that since the Novembe r 2016 meeting the Committee 
had received 83 notifications . These  had been distributed electronically to all delegations.  
1.1.2   Notifications in respect of  which questions have been raised in advance of the 
issuance of the convening airgram  
1.3.  Section 2 of document G/AG/W/ 161 reflects the questions raised, responses provided, and 
Members' follow -up comments in connection with the notifications on which question s had been 
raised in  advance of the iss uance of the convening airgram.2 
1.1.3   Deferred replies to questions raised under the review process  
1.4.  The Chairperson noted that a total of 89 responses in the context of the review process 
remained outstanding. The Chairper son strongly advised Members  to submit the ir replies to the 
Secretariat in order to enhance the efficiency of the review process.  
1.1.4   Overdue notifications  
1.5.  The Committee took note of document G/AG/GEN/86/Rev.2 7 circulated on  17 March  2017, 
reflecting the curr ent status of Members' compliance with notification obligations.  
1.6.  The Chairperson highlighted a few numbers with respect to the outstanding notifications. 
For the period 1995 to 201 5: 
                                                
2 WTO/AIR/AG/ 19, Attachment Section B. G/AG/R/84  
 
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   3.5% (64 ) of notifications in the MA:2 series remain outstanding;  
 3.5% (65) of notifications in the MA:5 series  remain outstanding ; 
 44% (801 ) Table DS:1 domestic support notifications  remain outstanding ; 
 46% (846 ) export subsidy notifi cations in the ES:1 series  remain outstanding ; and  
 3% (55 ) Table ES:2 notifications  remain out standing . 
1.7.  Members had raised five  question s under this agenda item. The question s, corresponding 
answer s and Members' follow -up comments can be found in section 3 of document G/AG/W/1 61. 
1.8.  The Chairperson noted the importance of transparency and echoed some of the Members ' 
calls for increase d efforts to get up to date with notification obligations . The Chairperson noted  
that a while a large number of pending notifications in the area of domestic support , it was equally  
important that Members get up to date wi th their export subsidy notifications in light of the 
follow -up to the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Export Competition.  
1.1.5   Notifications subject to review in respect of which no questions have been raised 
in advance of the issuance of the convening airgra m 
1.9.  The Commi ttee took note of the 76  notifications circulated before 17 March 2017 , including 
notificat ions carried over from the November 2016 meeting but  in respect of which no questions 
had been raised by that date under the Committee's working procedure s.3 
1.1.6   Notifications circulated or made available after the issuance of the convening 
airgram  
1.10.   Fifteen  notifications had been circulated after the issuance  of the convening airgram on 
17 March 2017 : 
 Costa Rica - Table ES:1, Table ES:2 and Table MA:5 for 201 6 (G /AG/N/CRI/56, 
G/AG/N/CRI/57 and  G/AG/N/CRI/58)  
 European Union - Table MA:2 for 2016 and Table MA:5 for 2015 (G/AG/N/EU/37  
and G/AG/N/EU/36)  
 Gabon - Table DS:1 and Table ES:1 for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 (G/AG/N/GAB/7  
and G/AG/N/GAB/8)  
 Guatemala - Table DS:1 for 2016 (G/AG/N/GTM/57/CORR.1)  
 Republic of Korea - Table MA:5 for 2016 (G/AG/N/KOR/59)  
 Malawi - Table ES:1 for 2016 and Table DS:1 for 2015 and 2016 (G/AG/N/MWI/8  
and G/AG/N/MWI/9)  
 Chinese Taipei - Table MA:2 and Table MA:5 f or 2016 (G/AG/N/TPKM/148/CORR.1 
and G/AG/N/TPKM/149/CORR.1)  
 Ukraine - Table DS:1 for 2016 (G/AG/N/UKR/26  and G/AG/N/UKR/26/CORR.1)  
1.11.   These notifications would be reverted to for substantive review during the next regular 
meeting, in accordance with the Committee's working procedures.  
1.1.7   Points concerning notifications raised at previous meetings which have been 
pursued bilaterally: information regarding outcome where the issue involved is one of  
general interest  
1.12.   There were no requests for the floor under this agenda item.  
1.1.8   Counter -notifications ( Article 18.7 of the Agreement on Agriculture)  
1.13.   There were no requests for the floor under this agenda item.  
                                                
3 WTO/AIR/AG/ 19, Attachment Section C. G/AG/R/84  
 
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  2  OTHER MATTERS WITHIN  THE PURVIEW OF THE C OMMITTEE  
2.1  Implementation -related Issues (G/AG/16 , G/AG/16/Add.1  and G/AG/22)  
2.1.  In the Doha Ministerial Decision  on implementation -related issues and concerns, the 
Committee had been  asked to follow up on three issues:  development of disciplines to govern the 
provision of export credits, export credit guarantees or insurance programmes i n accordance with 
Article  10.2; examination of the possible means of improving the effectiveness of the 
implementation o f the Marrakesh NFIDC Decision;  continued review of the administration of  TRQs 
and the submission of addenda to Table  MA:1 notification s on tariff rate quota regimes . 
2.2.  The Chair recalled that  this item had been on the agenda of all CoA meetings in 2016, and 
noted that some Members had reminded the Committee of the challenges faced by NFIDCs due to 
volatile food market prices and  that they had urged the Committee  to re-engage in efforts to fully 
implement the Marrakesh NFIDC decision.  
2.3.  Egypt requested that this item remain a standing agenda item for the CoA. Egypt noted that 
the implementation of the Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on measures to counter the negative 
impacts of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Net 
Food-Importing Developing Countries (NFIDCs) had not been satisfactory. Also, there had been no 
assessment of the AoA impact on those countries. The NFIDC Group had s tressed that the debate 
about implementation of the decision needed to move beyond Members' notifications or 
submissions by international institutions. In recognition of the challenges NFIDC countries continue 
to face since the adoption of Marrakesh Decisi on, the Ministers (in Paragraph 25  of the Nairobi 
Ministerial Declaration4) had reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement this decision in 
Nairobi. Therefore, the NFIDC Group had called upon the Members to engage in further discussions 
on how to opera tionalize the Marrakesh and the Nairobi mandate to improve implementation.  
2.2  WTO list of net food -importing developing countries (G/AG/3 and G/AG/5/Rev.10)  
2.4.  The Chairperson recalled that within the framework of the Marrakesh NFIDC Decision, and 
pursuant to th e Decision of the Committee (G/AG/3), the Committee was required to review the 
list of NFIDCs, including on the basis of specific requests  from Members for inclusion in  the list.  
2.5.  The Chairperson stated that the Committee ha d not received any new demands f rom 
Members to be added to the list of NFIDCs  and that the list contained in document G/AG/5/Rev.10 
therefore remain ed unchanged .  
2.3  Implementation of Ministerial outcomes  
2.6.  The Chairperson  noted that the  CoA was responsible for the implementation of Ministeri al 
outcomes in following areas: the monitoring of information submitted under the Bali Decision on 
public stockholding for food security purposes; monitoring and review of Members' obligations 
established under the Bali Decision on TRQ administration ; and monitoring of the  Nairobi 
Ministerial Decision on export competition, including the annual dedicated discussion on export 
competition.  The Chairperson stated that n o information ha d been provided by Members in the 
context of the monitoring foreseen  under t he Bali Decisions on public stockholding for food security 
purposes and TRQ  administration. According to the Decision on TRQ administration, a review of 
the operation of that Decision should begin no later than the end of 2017.  
2.7.  The Chair person  recalled tha t the first post -Nairobi dedicated discussion on export 
competition had taken  place in June 2016. Questions and responses provided during those 
discussions could  be found in document G/AG/W/155. The Secretariat background document had 
been revised subseque nt to the June  2016 CoA meeting and circu lated in document 
G/AG/W/125/R ev.5 and addenda. The Chairperson  noted that the se June dedicated discussion s 
provide d an opportunity for Members to have a focused exchange on issues related to the 
implementation of t his decision . The Chairperson stated that a s part of the monitoring of this 
Decision, Members also had the possibility to raise questions during other Committee meetings  
                                                
4 WT/MIN(15)/DEC.  G/AG/R/84  
 
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  under th is agenda item . In this context, Chile had posed a question to New Zealand.5 The 
question, corresponding response  and follow -up comments can be found in section 4 of 
document  G/AG/W/1 61. 
2.8.  Regarding updates on the implementation of Ministerial Decisions , Australia noted  that it ha d 
submitted amendment s to its export subsidies schedule . These amendments had been  circulated in 
G/MA/TAR/RS/454 on 22 February 2017. Australia highlighted that these amendments eliminate d 
Australia's  export subsidy enti tlements as of 19 December 2015 in co nformity with the 
commitments undert aken at MC10  in Nairobi to eliminate export subsidies.  Australia encoura ged 
those Members t hat were in the process of amending their own schedules to continue their 
processes.   
2.9.  Norway reported that it ha d concluded a revised draft schedule for export subsidies and that 
it was working towards a  formal government decision to submit the amended schedule.  
2.3.1   Preparation for June export competition dedicated discussion  
2.10.   The Chair person  reminded Members that a fax had been circulated on 31  October  2016 to 
initiate the next dedicated discussion on export competition scheduled for the June  2017 
CoA meeting. The  fax contained the questionnaire and the deadline for submissions to the 
questionnaire o f 31 March  2017. The Chair person  noted  at the time of this meeting  five Members 
had submitt ed replies to the questionnaire  (Honduras, Israel, New Zealand, Norway and 
Singapore) . The Chair person highlighted that comprehensive and updated information from 
Members was a critical element of th e annual dedicated discussion on export competition. The 
Chairperson  encouraged those Members who ha d not yet submitted their replies to the 
questionnaires to do so at their earliest convenience.  
2.4  Observer organizations  
2.4.1   Information from observer organizations  (G/AG/GEN/139)  
2.11.   The Inter -American Institute for Coope ration on Agriculture  (IICA) reported on its work plan 
regarding activities in relation to the work of the WTO's Committee on Agriculture for 2017 .6 
2.4.2   Requests for observer status (G/AG/GEN/140)  
2.12.   The Chairperson  pointed out  that t he rules for granting observe r status to international 
intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) were contained in Annex 3 of the General Council's Rules 
of Procedure (WT/L/161). The Chair person  noted that the overall question of observership was 
being considered at the General Council ( GC) and that the GC ha d not taken any final decision on 
this horizontal question. According to the rules, requests for observer status may be considered on 
a case -by-case basis by each WTO body that receives such request. While considering those 
requests, factors such as nature of the work of the organization concerned and its relevance to the 
work of the concerned WTO body were to be taken into account.  
2.13.   The Chair person  noted that the Committee ha d received a request for observer status from 
the Internation al Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).7 The Chair person  indicated that the list of 
Organizations that ha d been accorded, or that ha d requested, "regular" and "ad -hoc" observer 
status in the CoA could  be found in Document G/AG/W/29/Rev.7 dated 23 March 2010. The 
Chairperson  recalled  that the first  request for ad hoc observer status  in the CoA had been  received 
from IICA . This request had been  considered, and approved, by the CoA at its 2010  March 
meeting. Furthermore, s ince the 2012 March Committee meeti ng, the CoA ha d granted ad hoc 
observer status to IICA on an annual basis in order to expedite procedures.  The Chairperson noted 
that t he request from IFPRI was the second request made to the CoA for ad hoc observer status.  
In order to give Members  an oppo rtunity to review the document and to reflect on the request, the 
Chairperson  proposed that the Committee h old an informal meeting prior to the June  2017 
                                                
5 WTO/AIR/AG/ 19, Attachment Section D. 
6 G/AG/GEN/139 . 
7 G/AG/GEN/140 .  G/AG/R/84  
 
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  meeting to consider the request from IFPRI for ad hoc observer status. The Chairperson 
emphasised that  all Members would be invited to participate in this informal meeting.  
2.14.   India, the Philippines and Chin a reserve d their position on this matter. Indonesia re corded 
its interest o n joining future consultations  on this matter .  
2.5  Election of the Chairperson  
2.15.   The Chairperson  reported that the consultations for the appointment of officers for various 
WTO bodies, including the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG), were still ongoing. Consequently 
the CTG ha d not yet initiated its consultations for the appointment of Chairpersons to its subsidiary 
bodies, including that of th e CoA. The Chair person  suggested deferring the consideration of th e 
agenda item to the next meeting of the CoA.  
2.6  Other business  
2.6.1   Status of rice tariffication in the Philippines  
2.16.   The Philippines provided an update regarding the General Council Decision on the waiver 
related to special treatment for rice of the Philippines contained in document WT/L/932 dated 
25 July 2014. The Philippines reminded Members that it had the right to maintain quantitative 
restrictions on rice until 30 June 2017 , and that compensation in the form of expansion or creation 
of rice quotas and other concessions had  been extended to Members in exchange for their 
approval of the waiver. The  Philippines stated that the waiver was secure d to better prepare rice 
farmers and ensure food security through provision of competitiveness, productivity measures and  
the establishment of sustainable and climate resilient production systems.  The Philippines noted 
that according to paragraph 6 of the rice waiver, the importation of rice shall be subjected to 
ordinary custom duties at the expiration of the waiver and no later than 3 0 June 2017. The 
Philippines added that p aragraph 7 stated that the concessions en tered into  by the Philippines 
under this waiver shall cease to exist upon the termination of the waiver. The Philippines stated 
that it ha d initiated  various initiatives to fulfil this commitment on time , noting that the most 
important  of them was facilitating the enactment  of the law to abolish the rice quantitative 
restrictions. The Philippines emphasised that the enactment of such legislation was a necessary 
precondition to establish a tar iffication regime. To achieve this end, the Philippines had proposed 
legislation House Bill 4904, filed in February 2017 which was being deliberated upon in the House 
of Representatives of the Philippines.  
2.17.   The Philippines informed  the Committee  that it was likely to encounter delays in fulfilling its 
obligation to tarif fy by 1 July 2017. However, the Philippin es assured Members that it was 
allocating resources to facilitate completion of its tariffication process  and that it would notify the 
bound tariffs on rice to the WTO, when  the legislation was passed in to law. The Philippines noted 
that it would provide W TO Members an opportunity to provide comments on the tariff equivalence 
of the quantitative restriction based on the WTO procedures for modifying tariff schedules. The 
Philippines also  highlighted that it w ould continue to update Members on the progress of  
tariffication and  that it would welcome any opportunity to discuss  this matter  with interested 
Members.  
2.6.2   Update of the on-line notification system  
2.18.   The Chair recalled that the Secretariat ha d been working on enhancing on -line systems 
including the developm ent of a web -based notification system.  
2.19.   The Secretariat reminded Members that in the margins of the Committee meeting in 
November, the Secretariat had organised an information session to provide Members a preview of 
the online notification system. In this session, Members had been  encouraged to request log-in 
details to access the test version of the system. The Secretariat reported that more than 40 
Members ha d requested access to the test site and that several Members ha d started using the 
test site to pr oduce their official notifications. The Secretariat encouraged Members to use the  test 
site in order to be prepared when the system went live. The Secretariat stated that it anticipate d 
that Members would be able to officially begin submitting notification s through the system in the 
second part of 2017. Additional training activities on this system  were envisaged  later in  2017.  G/AG/R/84  
 
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  2.6.3   Notification Workshop  2017  
2.20.   The Secretariat briefed Members on the notification workshop held  on 13 -16 March  2017. 
The Secretariat reported that 25 government officials from developing country Members were 
selected , including two from Least -developed Countries. The training targeted mainly those 
Members with high levels of outstanding notifications. The Secretariat further highlighted  that t he 
training covered the notification requirements and formats pertinent to the AoA and the work of 
the CoA , with a particular focus on its review process. Additionally, p articipants had the 
opportunity to meet on a one-on-one basis with Secretariat staff to discuss country -specific issues. 
The Secretariat highlighted that for the first time in this edition of the workshop , participants were 
introduced to the new system for the  online submission of notifications  where they  were able to 
use the system to prepare  agriculture notifications.   
2.6.4   Date of next regular meeting  
2.21.   The Chairperson proposed that the eighty -fourth  (84th) regular meeting of the Committee 
on Agriculture be held on  7-8 June 2017. On this basis , the airgram convening the meeting w ould 
be issued on 2 4 May 2017.  
 
 
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