G/L/1194  
 
9 Novem ber 2017 
(17-6082) Page: 1/3 
   
 
 
REPORT (2017 ) ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE  
COMMITTEE ON AGRICUL TURE  
REPORT BY THE CHAIRP ERSON  
1.1.  The present draft report is being circulated by the Chairperson of the Committee on 
Agriculture  on his own responsibility. This report provides a summary of the activities of the 
Committee on Agriculture ("the Committee") during 2017.  
1.2.  The Committee held three formal meetings in 2017 o n 27 -28 March, 7 -8 June, and 
17-18 October.1 An informal meeting w as held on 17 October. Garth Ehrhardt was the Chairperson 
for the March meeting of the Committee. The Committee elected Mr Alf Vederhus of Norway as the 
new Chairperson for 2017 -2018 beginning with the June meeting.  
1.3.  In accordance with Article 18.1 of the A greement on Agriculture ("the Agreement") at each of 
its meetings the Committee reviewed progress in the implementation of Members' commitments. 
This review process is undertaken on the basis of notifications submitted by Members in the areas 
of market acc ess, domestic support, export competition, export prohibitions and restrictions as 
well as under the follow -up to the Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on NFIDCs. Between 1  January 
and 31 October 2017, 1 82 agriculture notifications of all types were circulate d. 
1.4.  In 2017 , Members posed 200 questions on 6 7 notifications during the Committee's review 
process. These questions were distributed as follows: 86% related  to domestic support issues, 
9% to market access, and 5% to export competition.2 Specific concerns were also raised regarding 
the outstanding notifications that some Members had yet to submit to the Committee.3  
1.5.  A wide range of matters relevant to the implementation of commitments was also raised 
independently of notifications under t he provisions of Article 18.6 of the Agreement. A total of 
54 implementation -related issues were raised by 14 Members during 2017.4 Out of these, 
40 issues were discussed for the first time in 2017. The remaining issues were discussed one or 
more times in previous years either under the review of notifications or under matters raised 
under Article 18.6. In 2017 a large number of the new issues related to the area s of domestic 
support  and market access . 
1.6.  At each meeting the Committee reviewed the current stat us of Members' compliance with 
their notification obligations under the Agreement. A document summarizing the current status of 
compliance with notification requirements was circulated at each Committee meeting.5 While a 
significant proportion of notificat ions are still outstanding (about 26% of all notifications from 
1995 - 2015), Members have increased their efforts to bring their notification record up to date by 
submitting notifications covering multiple reporting periods. Since 2009, the average number  of 
years reported per notification has been close to three . 
                                                
1 The summary reports of these meetings are contained in documents G/AG/R/8 4, G/AG/R/8 5, and 
G/AG/R/8 6 (to be issued).  
2 See G/AG/W/16 1, section 2; G/AG/W/165, section 2; and G/AG/W/168, section 2.  
3 7% of the total questions related to outdated notifications.  
4 See G/AG/W/16 1, section 1; G/AG/W/165 section 1; and G/AG/W/168, section 1.  
5 G/AG/GEN/86/Rev.27 , G/AG/GEN/86/Rev. 28 and G/AG/GEN/86/Rev. 29. G/L/1194  
 
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  1.7.  With respect to the work of the Committee related specifically to NFIDCs, the WTO list of 
NFIDCs6 remained unchanged. Follow -up to the Ministerial Decision on Measures Concerning the 
Possible Neg ative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least developed and Net Food -Importing 
Developing Countries (NFIDC) which normally would take place in November will take place in the 
February 2018 meeting.  
1.8.  The Committee maintained a standing item on its agenda r elating to implementation issues, 
both in the framework of its follow -up to the Decision by the Doha Ministerial Conference on 
Implementation -Related Issues and Concerns7, as well as in the framework of issues and proposals 
referred to it by the General Co uncil.  
1.9.  The Committee also discussed in formal settings follow -up to the Ministerial Outcomes, 
specifically related to (i) the Understanding on Tariff Rate Quota Administration Provisions of 
Agricultural Products, as defined in Article 2 of the Agreement o n Agriculture; (ii) the Bali 
Ministerial Decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes, and (iii) the Nairobi 
Ministerial Decision on Export Competition. No information was provided by Members in the 
context of the monitoring foreseen under th e Bali Decisions on Public Stockholding for Food 
Security purposes.  
1.10.   In October the Committee initiated its review of the Bali Decision on TRQ administration 
called for in that Decision.8 According to that Decision, the objective of the review will be to 
promote a continuing process of improvement in the utilization of tariff rate quotas and in the 
context of this review the General Council shall make recommendations to the 12th Ministerial 
Conference. The Secretariat circulated a background document to assist Members in their review.9 
A proposed timeline for the review will be discussed in first meeting of the Committee in 2018 . 
1.11.   Members exchanged views on the implementation of the Nairobi  Decision on Export 
Competition. The dedicated discussion on export  competition occurred during the June 2017 
meeting. The discussions were held on the basis of the Secretariat's background document. 
Following the meeting, a revised Secretariat's background document compiling all the information 
received by the Secretaria t was circulated on 27 September 201710 concluding this examination 
process. During the Committee meeting Members exchanged questions and responses on specific 
measures in relation to the implementation of the Nairobi Decision.11 The Cairns group and the 
Russian Federation circulated a paper as an input to the dedicated discussion.12 The paper 
considered the alignment of Members’ reported policies with the disciplines agreed by Ministers at 
MC10 in the Export Competition Decision.  
1.12.   During 2017 Members provided  information regarding their efforts to advance on the 
modification of their scheduled export subsidy commitments  pursuant to the Nairobi Decision . 
Australia was the first Member to submit an amended schedule to the WTO eliminating its export 
subsidy entit lement effective as of 22  May 2017. On October 2017, the European Union formally 
submitted for certification its draft Schedule CLXXV (EU -28) including a revised EU schedule on 
export subsidies resulting from the Nairobi Decision . 
1.13.   Several database tools su pport the Committee's monitori ng and transparency functions. 
Since 2012 t he AG -IMS platform  has facilitated  Member submission of questions and responses in 
the context of the Committee's monitoring of implementation of commitments. In 2017 t he 
Committee di scussed a proposal regarding  potential AG -IMS improvements.13 Members requested 
the Secretariat to evaluate the feasibility of making such modifications to the AG -IMS system and 
to report back to the Committee in the February 2018 meeting.  In addition to the AG -IMS, a new 
on-line system for agriculture notifications has been developed and Members will be able to submit 
notifications through this system beginning in 2018.  
                                                
6 G/AG/5/Rev.10.  
7 WT/MIN(01)/17, para. 2. 
8 WT/MIN(1 3)/39, para. 13.  
9 G/AG/W/169.  
10 G/AG/W/125/Rev.7, G/AG/W/125/Rev.7/Add.1, G/AG/W/125/Rev.7/Add.2, 
G/AG/W/125/Rev.7/Add.3, G/AG/W/125/Rev.7/Add.4.  
11 G/AG/W/ 166. 
12 G/AG/W/164.  
13 G/AG/W/167 and G/AG/W/167/corr.1  G/L/1194  
 
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  1.14.   The WTO's Agriculture and Commodities Division delivered the eighth Ge neva-based 
workshop on agriculture notifications from 13 –16 March 2017. It was organized in collaboration 
with the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation with the purpose of facilitating the 
preparation and review of agriculture notifications. A total of 27 participants from developing 
country capitals were funded by the WTO, and one participant came on a self -funded basis. The 
workshop included practical exercises related to the review process of the Committee on 
Agriculture hands -on training on the Agriculture Information Management System (AG -IMS). As in 
previous activities, the last day of the 2017 workshop was devoted to individual sessions with 
AGCD staff, offering participants the opportunity to consult on unfulfilled notification obligation s.  
1.15.   In addition to the notification workshop, the Secretariat conducted a workshop for LDCs  
from 16 -19 October 2017. For the first time, this activity was delivered bilingually (interpretation 
English -French). A total of 29 participants were funded by the WTO. The training covered the 
Agreement on Agriculture, the work of the CoA and had an SPS component. As part of the 
workshop, participants were able to participate in the October CoA meetings. Two  national 
seminars that included the Agreement on Agricultu re and AoA negotiations were delivered in 
Colombia and Kazakhstan  and a Regional Seminar on Agriculture for Central and Eastern European 
and Central Asian countries was held in Turkey.  
1.16.   The following international intergovernmental organizations have regular observer status in 
the Committee: Food and Agriculture Organization, International Monetary Fund, the International 
Grains Council, OECD, UNCTAD, World Food Programme, and the World B ank. Renewal of ad hoc 
observer status for the Inter -American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation (IICA) was considered 
in the October meeting. The Committee also considered a request for ad hoc observer status14 
from the International Food Policy Resear ch Institute in its October 2017 meeting  but did not reach 
consensus . No consensus has been reached as regards  pending  requests for observer status by 
eleven other international organizations.  
1.17.   The Committee agreed to hold regular meetings on 21-22 February , 6-7 June, 
26-27 September, and 21 -22 November in  2018.15 
 
__________  
                                                
14 G/AG/GEN/140/Rev.1.  
15 G/AG/GEN/141 .