What to Expect at MC12 From the Negotiations on Agriculture?

The briefing analyzes the challenges facing WTO agriculture negotiations at MC12, noting that deep divisions among members on domestic support, market access, and public stockholding likely mean that substantive outcomes will be limited to work programs for post-conference talks. The author identifies a potential positive outcome regarding an exemption for World Food Programme (WFP) food purchases from export restrictions and suggests that some progress on transparency may be achievable, though substantive issues like trade-distorting subsidies in cotton remain unresolved.

• WTO members are deeply divided on seven key agriculture negotiation areas: domestic support, market access, export competition, export restrictions, cotton, public stockholding for food security purposes (PSH), and the special safeguard mechanism (SSM). Because positions remain far apart, the author suggests MC12 may only yield a "modest outcome" consisting of work programs to guide future talks.
• A viable positive outcome at MC12 is a decision to exempt foodstuffs purchased by the World Food Programme (WFP) for non-commercial humanitarian purposes from export prohibitions or restrictions. Such a move would aim to prevent longer lead times, higher transport costs, and meal losses in developing countries.
• Significant disagreements persist regarding domestic support, specifically whether to agree on a reduction target and timeline, and whether to use a "boxes" approach to distinguish between types of subsidies. Developing members particularly seek to preserve investment subsidies and input subsidies for low-income producers under Article 6.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA).
• Public stockholding (PSH) for food security remains contentious, with some members wanting a "stand-alone" permanent solution and others wanting to link it to domestic support. A potential compromise would be a work program addressing program coverage, transparency requirements, and the legal form of a future permanent solution.
• Progress on the special safeguard mechanism (SSM)—which allows developing members to temporarily raise tariffs during import surges—and agricultural market access is stalled. Both areas would likely result in work programs, as the SSM is viewed as linked to market access discussions.
• While substantive reforms are difficult, progress is possible on transparency. This could include updating the bi-annual cotton questionnaire, providing outstanding notifications on domestic support, and establishing best practices for most favoured nation applied tariffs on a "best-endeavour basis."

APA

Calvo, F. (2021). What to Expect at MC12 From the Negotiations on Agriculture? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/mc12-negotiations-agriculture

Chicago

Calvo, Facundo. What to Expect at MC12 From the Negotiations on Agriculture? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/articles/mc12-negotiations-agriculture.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Calvo |first1=Facundo |title=What to Expect at MC12 From the Negotiations on Agriculture? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=25 November 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/mc12-negotiations-agriculture |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{calvo2021what, author = {Calvo, Facundo}, title = {{What to Expect at MC12 From the Negotiations on Agriculture?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/mc12-negotiations-agriculture}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }