Rethinking Food and Agricultural Trade Negotiations:
Identifying Options for Progress
Wednesday 9 May 2018, 09:00 - 18:00, Maison de la Paix, Geneva

OBJECTIVE
This dialogue will create a space for international policy-makers, negotiators, farm groups andother policy actors to explore options for negotiating food and agricultural trade in the newpolicy environment. It will explore the evolving landscape of global agricultural markets andpolicy; examine the implications of the proliferation of preferential trade deals and nationalpolicies affecting food and agriculture; and consider how these developments could shapeongoing talks on farm trade at the multilateral level, in the light of Agenda 2030 commitments.

AGENDA
08:45 – 09:00

Arrivals

09:00 – 09:15

Session 1: Introductory Remarks by the Organizers
Ricardo MELÉNDEZ-ORTIZ, Chief Executive, ICTSD
Carolyn RODRIGUES-BIRKETT, Director, FAO Liaison Office, Geneva

09:15 – 09:45

Session 2: The evolving landscape of agricultural trade: markets and policy
A number of factors are reshaping global markets for food and agriculture, withnew trends likely to affect the sector between now and 2030. This sector will
explore how markets, policies and governance frameworks have evolved since
the conclusion of the Uruguay Round in 1994, and examine trends anddevelopments that are likely to be important in the years ahead.
The evolving global landscape of agricultural trade
Alan MATTHEWS, Professor Emeritus, Trinity College Dublin
The outlook for global food and agriculture markets
Georgios MERMIGKAS, Economist, FAO

09:45 – 10:15

Open discussion

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10:15 – 11:00

Session 3: Evolving national policies in the EU, US, China and India
Although global agricultural markets have evolved significantly since the turn ofthe century, the EU, the US, Japan, India, China, and Brazil nonetheless remain thelargest players in world agricultural markets. National policy frameworks in major
economies therefore remain disproportionately important in determining thecontours of global trade in food and farm goods, as well as framing what ispossible and desirable in multilateral talks on trade. With the US beginning towrite a new Farm Bill, EU consultations on a new Common Agricultural Policy
moving into a new gear, and China and India exploring options for future policy
directions, this session will examine the state of farm policy debate in key
countries and explore the possible implications for global talks on farm trade.

Vincent H. SMITH, Professor of Economics, Montana State University
Tassos HANIOTIS, Director, Economic Analysis, DG Agriculture, EuropeanCommission, Agriculture
Wusheng YU, Professor, Department of Food and Resource Economics,
University of Copenhagen
Uma LELE, Institute of Economic GrowthCarmel CAHILL, Deputy Director, OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate

11:00 – 11:30

Coffee break

11:30 – 12:30

Session 3, continued: open discussion

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch

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13:30 – 14:45

Session 4: The implications of preferential trade deals for trade in food andagriculture
In recent years, governments have focused their energy and political commitment
in negotiating a number of preferential trade agreements, which are reshaping
regulatory norms and market access arrangements for food and agriculture, withcommitments affecting the sector throughout the value chain. Although therecently-concluded CPTPP is likely to be particularly important, the EU is also
negotiating or has finalised agreements with partners in different world regions(including with Mercusor, Canada, Japan and ACP countries), while ASEAN
countries and their partners are negotiating RCEP. African countries have set theirsights on an ambitious new continental free trade agreement, while in North
America NAFTA countries are renegotiating their existing trade agreement. Thissession will explore how these talks are affecting trade in food and farm goods,
and will consider their implications for talks at the WTO.

Kazuhito YAMASHITA, Research Director, the Canon Institute for Global Studies
Jean-Christophe BUREAU, Professor of Economics at AgroParisTech, Universitéof Paris-Saclay
Ellen TERPSTRA, Independent expert; former Deputy Under Secretary, US
Department of Agriculture
Judith FESSEHAIE, Trade and Development Manager, ICTSD

14:45 – 15:45

Open discussion

15:45 – 16:15

Coffee breakYour feedback is important to us, please take 5 minutes to answer our questions, please type in your internet browser:

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16:15 – 16:45

Session 5: Options for advancing WTO negotiations
The WTO’s eleventh ministerial conference in Buenos Aires ended without taking
any decisions on outstanding agricultural issues, or providing a clear direction for
ongoing talks in the area. The inconclusive outcome contrasts with the sustained
technical engagement among most members during 2016 and 2017, as well as
the urgency of delivering results in the area in order to move forward on achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular SDG2. As members explore
options for achieving future progress, this session will consider possible ways
forward in the negotiations, and examine options for members to move towards
updating global rules in this area.

Joseph GLAUBER, Visiting Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy
Research Institute
Guillermo VALLES GALMES, Former Ambassador of Uruguay to the WTO

16:45 – 17:45

Open discussion

17:45 -18:00

Closing remarks by the organisers
Ricardo MELÉNDEZ-ORTIZ, Chief Executive, ICTSD
Carolyn RODRIGUES-BIRKETT, Director, FAO Liaison Office, Geneva

18:00

Close of meetingYour feedback is important to us, please take 5 minutes to answer our questions, please type in your internet browser:

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