Books by Sachin Kumar Sharma
Bookwell ISBN: 978-93-86578-05-1, 2017
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the competitiveness of Indian agriculture under mu... more This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the competitiveness of Indian agriculture under multilateral and regional trade agreements and the prospects and challenges to uphold food security concerns in a free trade regime. It is based on selected papers presented in a two-day international conference on ‘WTO, Trade and Agriculture: Issues and Challenges for Developing and Least Developed Countries’ organized by the Centre for WTO Studies in New Delhi during 29–30 October 2015. Besides introduction, this volume contains 12 chapters written by eminent agricultural economists, lawyers and research scholars. For precision, the chapters are organized into two broad sections. The first section provides estimates on the comparative advantage in selected agricultural commodities under key regional trade agreements. The second section delves into the impact of trade liberalization on food security and brings forth the importance of biotechnology to augment crop productivity and legislative and institutional interventions to maintain food stocks keeping in view the developments taking place at the global level.
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Springer Singapore, 2016
This book examines the public stockholding policies of selected developing countries from the per... more This book examines the public stockholding policies of selected developing countries from the perspective of WTO rules and assesses whether the provisions of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) could hamper these countries’ efforts to address the challenges of food security. Further, it highlights the need to amend the provisions of the AoA to make WTO rules just and fair for the millions of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. This book highlights that 12 countries namely China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Zambia and Zimbabwe are facing or will face problems in implementing the food security policies due to the provisions under AoA. These provisions need to be amended for permitting developing countries to address hunger and undernourishment. Progress in WTO negotiations on public stockholding for food security purposes are also discussed and analysed. The findings of this study greatly benefit trade negotiators, policymakers, civil society, farmers groups, researchers, students and academics interested in issues related to the WTO, agriculture and food security.
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Journal Papers by Sachin Kumar Sharma
Agricultural Economics Research Review, 2020
Despite the higher cost of production, the developed country members of the World Trade Organizat... more Despite the higher cost of production, the developed country members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) like the United States (US) enjoy an artificial comparative advantage in the international cotton markets due to huge subsidies and entitlements at the expense of the poor farmers in developing countries. This paper critically examines the effects of various proposals in the WTO negotiations on the flexibilities to the US to support its cotton farmers. The paper finds that agreeing on any proposal, and implementing it, would considerably reduce the US policy space and benefit millions of developing country cotton farmers.
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Food Security, 2019
Achieving food security remains a challenge for many low- and middle-income countries, including ... more Achieving food security remains a challenge for many low- and middle-income countries, including Indonesia. The aim of this study was to assess the policy space to implement food security policy in Indonesia under the World Trade Organization (WTO). The policy space for developing countries to implement administered prices for agricultural commodities is significantly circumscribed by the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) under the WTO regime. In particular, the procurement of foodgrains at administered prices is considered “trade distorting support” and limited under the amber box. This study describes the food security policy context in Indonesia, compares existing food procurement expenditure to Indonesia’s commitments within the AoA, and evaluates the implications of different options proposed regarding public stockholding for food security purposes at the WTO. Administered prices and public procurement form part of Indonesia’s long-term commitment to food security policy, and aim to stabilize food prices for producers and consumers. Indonesia’s procurement of rice has been rising as a percentage of value of production (VoP). It is still under the de minimis limit (10%), but the applicable permissible limit on procurement has declined by nearly half, in terms of volume. This indicates that the policy space for providing product specific support is declining, as inflation is not accounted for under the AoA method of calculation. Of the different options that have been tabled to take into account inflation, using the Wholesale Price Index as a deflator increases the policy space the most. The peace clause deliberations at the WTO are of critical importance to the Government of Indonesia, as their policy space becomes increasingly constrained. In the near future, Indonesia may need to invoke the peace clause to restrain other countries from challenging its food security program.
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Agricultural Economics Research Review, 2018
Developing countries have been demanding substantial reduction in trade distorting domestic suppo... more Developing countries have been demanding substantial reduction in trade distorting domestic support to agriculture given by the developed countries. On the other hand, under the existing rules of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) many developing countries lack policy space to implement price support measures to augment income of the farmers. Of late, some member countries of WTO namely, Brazil, European Union, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay circulated a proposal on Overall Trade Distorting Support (OTDS) seeking a cap on trade distorting spending. This study critically examines the implications of EU-Brazil proposal regarding OTDS on the flexibility for the member countries to provide domestic support to agriculture. The results show that EU-Brazil proposal is likely to result in a steep reduction in policy space for the developing countries, which is already limited and insufficient for implementing agricultural policies. Concurrently, USA and EU will undertake negligible or no reductions in trade distorting support to agriculture and preserve their existing flexibilities in future as well. Contrary to Doha Declaration, this proposal is providing special and differential treatment to EU and USA.
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Agricultural Economics Research Review, 2018
The US has challenged the product-specific support to foodgrains by China in the WTO claiming tha... more The US has challenged the product-specific support to foodgrains by China in the WTO claiming that China has breached its commitments under WTO by providing more than US$100 billion as product-specific support to wheat, rice and corn in 2015. The main issue is the price support backed procurement of foodgrains for food security purposes. India too implements this type of policy, this case also has implications for India as well. China implements the Minimum Procurement Price policy for price stabilization, protecting farmers from price volatility and manage food supplies. India too procures foodgrains mainly rice
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Economic & Political Weekly, 2017
The interim solution to the problem of whether to allow public stockholding of food stocks for fo... more The interim solution to the problem of whether to allow public stockholding of food stocks for food security purposes in the World Trade Organization was arrived at during the Bali Ministerial Conference held in 2013 and subsequently by the General Council of the WTO in November 2014. However, the commitment to agree to a permanent solution by the 11th Ministerial Conference did not materialise. The United States and some other members reneged on their commitment to finding a permanent solution, effectively undermining the WTO itself. Developing country members have to persist for a permanent solution.
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Margin—The Journal of Applied Economic Research , 2016
This article examines the economic impact of trade facilitation between Commonwealth country memb... more This article examines the economic impact of trade facilitation between Commonwealth country members, using a global computable general equilibrium framework. We document enormous economic impact, much higher than a complete tariff liberalisation amongst these countries. The economic impact is quite visible in terms of welfare, gross domestic product, employment and trade in several sectors. We abstract from the costs involved in such trade facilitation-accounting for them is beyond the scope of this study.
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Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, 2016
Agriculture subsidies in developed countries have been a major stumbling block in Doha Round nego... more Agriculture subsidies in developed countries have been a major stumbling block in Doha Round negotiations. Developed countries are providing huge subsidies to agriculture sector and thereby create distortions in the international market. Some of the developed countries are enjoying comparative advantage due to large amount of subsidies and thus, adversely affecting the welfare of millions of farmers in developing countries like India. Among the developed countries, USA is one of the prominent providers of trade distorting support to agriculture sector. USA is giving huge support to farmers under various programmes which are governed by USA Farm Act. The USA Farm Act 2014 has restructured as well as repealed many programs related to different commodities. Direct Payments, Counter-Cyclical Payments (CCPs), Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program, are repealed under Farm Act 2014. This Act introduced new programs like Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss coverage (PLC) to protect farmers in terms of revenue and price loss respectively. This Act makes several changes to the existing federal crop insurance program. With cotton not covered by the ARC or PLC program, a new crop insurance policy called Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) is made available for cotton producers. For other crops, a similar type of policy called Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) is introduced by Farm Act 2104. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to critically examine the commodity and insurance programmes of USA Farm Act 2014 with reference to domestic support under Agreement on Agriculture and Doha round negotiations.
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South Asia Economic Journal, 2016
The plethora of Regional Trade Agreements, especially in Asia, has created a complex web of noodl... more The plethora of Regional Trade Agreements, especially in Asia, has created a complex web of noodle bowl, which has made trade more difficult. Many countries of Asia are now trying to be part of mega-free trade agreements (FTAs). While Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is consolidating through ASEAN+1 initiative leading to Regional Cooperation and Economic Partnership (RCEP), no such effort has been initiated so far by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). This study thus examines the possible effects of regional integration between ASEAN and SAARC on various sectors, as well as on macroeconomic and trade areas by using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model and database. A scenario of a complete integration between ASEAN and SAARC is simulated using the GTAP model, where the tariffs between ASEAN and SAARC are eliminated on all items but maintained for other trading partners. This article suggests for, among others, consolidation of ASEAN and SAARC FTAs, which will have a greater welfare enhancement, though some sectors will require adjustments due to their sensitivities. The article recommends for a policy dialogue between ASEAN and SAARC as such a process can only be initiated through a political engagement. It also recommends that the developing countries shall eliminate their tariffs in 5 years and allow longer time frame for the LDCs. JEL: F15, F13, C68
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Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, 2016
Our purpose is to undertake a comparative analysis of the likely impact of tariff reduction under... more Our purpose is to undertake a comparative analysis of the likely impact of tariff reduction under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on various macro and trade variables of the Indian economy under different scenarios. The TPP was concluded in October 2015, but it is yet to be ratified by the partner countries, and while Asian giants like India, China and Korea have not joined the TPP, there are some talks about their joining the partnership in future. Ours is a unique study that evaluates India’s perspective on joining the TPP, in terms of tariff reduction, and not in terms of the removal of non-tariff barriers. We employ the widely used standard Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model for this exercise. This is a unique framework with a global economy-wide approach, in a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) setting. Five different scenarios of complete integration in terms of tariff reduction between different regions are simulated using the GTAP model. Under each scenario, the tariff among members of a group of regions is eliminated, but is unchanged for other regions. Higher welfare arising from allocative efficiency comes with the cost of a relatively lower consumption of domestic products and investment, resulting in a loss in terms of GDP. Therefore, we conclude that there are mixed prospects and no strong reason for India to pursue being part of the TPP in future, from a perspective of tariff reductions.
JEL Classification:F15, F17
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Agricultural Economics Research Review, 2014
This study has critically examined different aspects of Counter-Cyclical Payments (CCPs) in the c... more This study has critically examined different aspects of Counter-Cyclical Payments (CCPs) in the context of commitment of United State of America (US) under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and future obligations under recent Doha Round Negotiations. The study has highlighted the shortcomings in domestic support notifications of US to WTO and their impact on product-specific support to the agriculture sector. Earlier, US has argued that CCPs are not a trade distorting support but a decoupled support. However, due to the upland cotton case, the US notified CCPs as Amber Box support, but as a non-product specific support. The US notifications on domestic support have given a distorted picture of the product-specific support to various crops. In Doha Negotiations, the US seeks flexibilities so that CCPs can be placed under Blue Box. In WTO Notifications, the US has treated CCPs as a non-product specific support, but in Doha Negotiations, CCPs are treated as a product-specific Blue Box support. The study has concluded that it is a clear case of box shifting under Doha Round Negotiations.
Key words: Subsidy, Blue Box, counter-cyclical payments, Doha negotiations, Agriculture, WTO
notifications, Upland cotton
JEL Classification: F 51, Q17, Q 18
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ScienceDirect: Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014
This study has critically examined the issue of Cotton subsidies in USA as well made a comparativ... more This study has critically examined the issue of Cotton subsidies in USA as well made a comparative analysis of cotton sector between USA and India in the background of USA claim that African cotton producers' plight was not due to the trade-distorting subsidies of USA but was on account of upward trend in cotton production in India and China in defiance of market signals. This study also estimated the comparative advantage in cotton production and cotton export diversification by calculation various indicators. Result shows that India has comparative advantage in production and export of cotton in recent years. This study highlights that USA has 14 percent share in world production, however, its share in world export is 38 percent. USA exports 86 percent of cotton production to other countries. The cost of producing cotton is highest in USA, which is 4.5 to 6 times higher than India. During 1995-2010, USA has given about $37 billion to cotton producers though various programmes like counter-cyclical payments, decoupled income, commodity certificates etc. Despite high cost of cotton production, USA is enjoying artificial comparative advantage in cotton market due to high level of domestic support given to farmers and big corporation in USA.
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Working Paper by Sachin Kumar Sharma
Centre for WTO Studies Working Paper CWS/WP/200/64, 2021
Despite the higher cost of production, the developed country-members of the WTO like the United S... more Despite the higher cost of production, the developed country-members of the WTO like the United States (US) enjoy an artificial comparative advantage in the international cotton markets due to its huge subsidies and entitlements at the expense of the poor farmers of the developing countries. This paper has critically examined the effects of various proposals in the WTO negotiations on the flexibilities to the US to support its cotton farmers. Further, it has traced the history of cotton subsidies in the US and highlights some contentious issues related to the imbalances and asymmetries in the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). Our findings show that if the various proposals by the member-countries are agreed upon and implemented in true spirit, there will be a considerable reduction in the policy space for the US, benefitting millions of cotton farmers in the developing world
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Centre for WTO Studies, Working Paper No. CWS/WP/200/63., 2020
Disciplining domestic support to agriculture remains an unfinished agenda in the WTO negotiations... more Disciplining domestic support to agriculture remains an unfinished agenda in the WTO negotiations due to the different views and positions of members. Developing members have been consistently demanding an effective special and differential treatment (S&DT) for themselves, along with a substantial reduction in the trade-distorting support entitlement of developed members. However, members have failed to reach a consensus on different aspects, especially coverage and approaches to determine an overall trade-distorting support (OTDS) limit. In this context, this study quantifies and critically examines the implications of various proposals on the policy space to provide trade-distorting support based on floating and fixed reference period models. It estimates trade-distorting entitlements of 9 developed and 16 developing members under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) as well as the selected proposals for the years 2020 and 2030. These entitlements have been computed in monetary limits, percentage of the value of production, and on per farmer basis. Results show that many proposals have failed to deliver the effective S&DT, as developing members generally have to undertake higher cuts than developed members, highlighting the asymmetries in negotiations. The study will be useful for members to take an informed position in the agriculture negotiations on domestic support.
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Working Paper CWS/WP/200/62, Centre for WTO Studies, Delhi, 2020
Developing members at the WTO are faced with shrinking policy space to support their agricultural... more Developing members at the WTO are faced with shrinking policy space to support their agricultural sector owing to the restrictive provisions of the Amber Box. Contrastingly, most developed members are able to provide high levels of product-specific support without breaching their commitments, on account of their AMS entitlement. For some of these members, the Blue Box plays a pivotal role in expanding the policy space with respect to domestic support to agricultural products. Though a lot of scholarship has discussed and examined Amber and Green boxes, the Blue Box remains relatively shrouded in mystery. Testimony to this is the fact that although the Blue Box has found use amongst the developed members, no developing Member, except for China in 2016, had ever used the Blue Box to support their producers. Given the impasse in the Doha Round and limited flexibilities available under Amber Box, this paper examines the feasibility and compatibility Blue Box measures with the socio-economic situation of developing members. To this end, the provisions of the Blue Box are demystified based on the Agreement on Agriculture and the practices of members. Further, it traces the genesis of Blue Box and members position on this Box in the agricultural negotiations. Findings of this paper bring to fore the various operational flexibilities available in implementing Blue Box programmes to support agriculture.
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Centre for WTO Studies, 2020
With rising levels of food and livelihood insecurity among poor farmers, many developing members ... more With rising levels of food and livelihood insecurity among poor farmers, many developing members at the WTO are demanding special safeguard mechanism (SSM) for shielding their agriculture from import surges and price declines. Most of developing members do not have any trade instrument under the WTO to address it except by increasing the applied tariff to bound level. Similar to special agricultural safeguards (SSGs) which is available only to few members, SSM seeks to provide flexibility to developing members to breach the bound tariff in special cases of import surges and price dips in order to minimize its adverse impact. In this context, this study identifies the agricultural products facing import surges in selected developing members namely Ghana, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. The uniqueness of this study is derived from the fact that it also evaluates the policy space available to selected members on these tariff lines in terms of tariff overhang under their existing schedules as well as proposed tariff reductions under agriculture negotiations. Beside this, it critically scrutinizes various issues such as cross-check conditions, triggers and remedies in order to highlight the sensitivities of developing members in accessibility, effectiveness, and other technical aspects of this mechanism. The study identifies some of the provisions contained in the most recent version of the negotiating texts which could render the SSM an ineffective policy instrument and difficult to operationalise.
Keywords: Agreement on Agriculture, Domestic support, de minimis limit, Amber box, Negotiations, WTO
JEL Classification: F13, F14, F17, Q17
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Centre for WTO Studies, 2020
In the agriculture negotiations, developing members remain concerned about the inherent inequitie... more In the agriculture negotiations, developing members remain concerned about the inherent inequities in the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) which allows developed members to provide huge trade-distorting support without breaching their commitments. As a result of these flexibilities, developed members enjoy artificial competitiveness in international trade, which subsequently leads to an adverse impact on farm income and livelihood security for millions of farmers in third world countries. Further, developing members have been increasingly finding it difficult to implement domestic support measures due to the constraining provisions of the AoA. From the developing members' perspective, the elimination of trade-distorting entitlement for developed members along with special and differential treatment for themselves are the key demands in domestic support negotiations. However, some developed members have tried to build a narrative to depict developing members as major providers of trade-distorting support. This study has made a modest attempt to bring out the fallacy of this narrative by highlighting the asymmetries and inequities in trade-distorting entitlement of 8 developed and 12 developing members based on their socio-economic conditions. Results show that per farmer Amber box entitlement for developing members under the AoA is a mere fraction of the entitlement enjoyed by the developed members. This study provides a different dimension to the ongoing agriculture negotiations to make trade rules development-oriented and inclusive for all. This study projected per farmer Amber box support entitlment for 20 countries for year 2020 and 2030
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Working Paper FCWS/WP/200/55, Centre for WTO Studies, Delhi, 2019
Indian agriculture is fraught with policies that are presently facing the gavel at the WTO. Sugar... more Indian agriculture is fraught with policies that are presently facing the gavel at the WTO. Sugarcane related policies, in particular, are being alleged to constitute domestic support beyond the permissible limit and for this reason, have been challenged by Australia, Brazil and Guatemala. The ground reality, however, contrasts this narrative. With rising cane arrears and prevailing farm distress, the sugarcane sector faces an uphill battle on domestic and international fronts. The skewed provisions of the Agreement on Agriculture and the commitments under them have added to the grievance of this sensitive sector, along with the application of outdated and biased rules pertaining to external reference prices and aggregate measurement of support entitlements. Through this study, the authors have attempted to address this purported issue of excessive support, by utilizing the alternative provisions under the Agreement on Agriculture to notify domestic support to the sugarcane sector. In contrast to the counter-notification, the results clearly show that domestic support to sugarcane sector is within the permissible limit established by the WTO.
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Working Paper CWS/WP/200/29, Centre for WTO Studies, 2016
The USA has challenged the product specific support to foodgrains in China through the Dispute Se... more The USA has challenged the product specific support to foodgrains in China through the Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the WTO and claimed that China has breached its commitments under the WTO by giving $100 billion in product specific support to wheat, rice and corn in 2015. The main issue in this dispute is the price support backed procurement of foodgrains for food security purposes by China. Since India is also implementing this type of policy, this case will have important implications for it in terms of policy space. With 328 million people in India and China living in hunger and reeling under undernourishment, the problem of ensuring food security remains an important issue for both countries. In this context, to verify USA claim about domestic support in China as well to examine the policy space available for India and China, product specific support to foodgrains is calculated for these two Asian countries. China implements the Minimum Procurement Price policy to maintain stability of grain market prices, protect farmers and control food supply. In case of India, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) undertakes the procurement of foodgrain at Minimum Support Price (MSP) and provides it to the weaker sections of the society at subsidised prices through the public distribution system (PDS). The finding of this study shows that product specific support for foodgrains in India was below the de minims limit during 2011-12 to 2015-16. In case of China, it may have breached the maximum permissible limit to provide domestic support to wheat and corn in 2015 based on the assumption that the share of procurement in total production was 33% and 26 % respectively. In contrast to USTR‟s claim that Chinese product specific support was more than $100 billion for foodgrains, results show that support for wheat, rice and corn was only $17 billion in 2015 based on the assumption that procurement of wheat and corn was 33% and 26 % respectively of total production of these crops. In case the procurement of wheat and corn was less than 23.7 % and 14% respectively of total production in 2015, total product specific support would be zero due to the fact that product specific support remained below the de minimis limit. This paper concludes that the USA claim is highly exaggerated. This paper also highlights the different aspects of food security and the need for a level playing field in international trade of foodgrains.
Keyword: China, WTO, Amber Box, Minimum Purchase Price, USTR, Food security, China, India, Agriculture, Price support
JEL classification: F13, F14, F51, Q17, Q18
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Books by Sachin Kumar Sharma
Journal Papers by Sachin Kumar Sharma
JEL Classification:F15, F17
Key words: Subsidy, Blue Box, counter-cyclical payments, Doha negotiations, Agriculture, WTO
notifications, Upland cotton
JEL Classification: F 51, Q17, Q 18
Working Paper by Sachin Kumar Sharma
Keywords: Agreement on Agriculture, Domestic support, de minimis limit, Amber box, Negotiations, WTO
JEL Classification: F13, F14, F17, Q17
Keyword: China, WTO, Amber Box, Minimum Purchase Price, USTR, Food security, China, India, Agriculture, Price support
JEL classification: F13, F14, F51, Q17, Q18
JEL Classification:F15, F17
Key words: Subsidy, Blue Box, counter-cyclical payments, Doha negotiations, Agriculture, WTO
notifications, Upland cotton
JEL Classification: F 51, Q17, Q 18
Keywords: Agreement on Agriculture, Domestic support, de minimis limit, Amber box, Negotiations, WTO
JEL Classification: F13, F14, F17, Q17
Keyword: China, WTO, Amber Box, Minimum Purchase Price, USTR, Food security, China, India, Agriculture, Price support
JEL classification: F13, F14, F51, Q17, Q18
Japan, New Zealand and USA. The specific objectives of this study are:
1. To make a comparative analysis of the role played by agriculture in overall economies of select countries.
2. To see the trend in agriculture trade and identify the key agricultural export & import items in select countries
3. To examine the domestic support policies in developed nations.
4. To assess the tariff and non-tariff barriers in developed nations, which are main concern for the developing nations, especially India.
Indeed, some have gone as far as to suggest that crores of rupees have been “plundered” from Indian farmers owing to agricultural policies pursued in India. Is this really so? What are the reasons for this so-called negative support? If support has indeed been negative, are the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act and the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) to be blamed? What are the implications of negative support for the minimum support price (MSP) and procurement regime in India? These issues need a close examination so that informed decisions are made by all stakeholders.
based on data by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), have ostensibly stated that the support provided
to Indian agriculture is extremely low or negative, and, therefore, net taxed. In contrast, the support provided by the Central and State governments through their various federal and sub-federal schemes is well-documented. This divergence merits a close examination for bringing clarity on this issue.
Assuming all the members have per farmer Amber Box support entitlement equivalent to that of the US, then policy space for India and China would be 657 and 127 percent of VoP of total agriculture for 2030 in contrast to the applicable combined de minimis limit given in the narrative. On the other hand, in case all members are entitled to per farmer support equivalent to that of India, then policy space for the US, EU and Japan would shrink to 0.4, 1.2, and 2.6 percent of their VoP respectively for 2030.
For full analysis: Read Working Paper Revisiting Domestic Support Negotiations at the WTO: Ensuring a Level Playing Field published by Centre for WTO Studies
Keywords: WTO. Food security. Doha development round. Agreement on Agriculture. Domestic support.
support to agriculture sector in Tunisia. It also seeks to calculate
product specific support to wheat during 1995–2009. The Cereals
Office (Office Des Cereales) plays important role in providing food security to poor people in Tunisia by ensuring fair prices for both consumers and producers. Farmers in Tunisia received price support for many agricultural products like wheat, barley, milk, olive oil, sugar beet, etc. Besides wheat, this chapter also calculated product specific support to barley and milk by using unadjusted External Reference Price (ERP) for the period 1995–2009. It is found that the current total AMS has been above the Bound AMS during 1995–2009 if unadjusted ERP is used to calculate product specific support to agriculture in Tunisia. Therefore, it would be difficult for Tunisia to provide price support to agricultural products without exceeding the permissible AMS limit and it will undermine Tunisia efforts to provide food security to poor people and low income or resource poor farmers.
in Turkey during 1995–2003. Like many other developing countries,
Turkey also provides price support to producers of agricultural
commodities. The Turkish Grain Board (TMO) TMO is protecting the interest of farmers by procuring grains at administered prices from producers who are not able to obtain higher prices in the commercial market. In this chapter, it is found that Turkey has exceeded the de minimis limit in some years and is facing challenges to implement food security policy under the existing provisions of AoA.