What National Farm Policy Trends Could Mean for Efforts to Update WTO Rules on Domestic Support

The report analyzes agricultural domestic support in twelve WTO members, finding that trade-distorting support is heavily concentrated in China, India, the United States, and the European Union. It argues that existing WTO rules are outdated, failing to address the growth of support in emerging economies or the inequities inherited from the Uruguay Round. The authors propose simplifying rules by tying domestic support limits to a percentage of the value of production (VoP) and increasing transparency requirements.

• A significant portion of trade-distorting agricultural support is concentrated among a small number of WTO members, specifically China, India, the United States, and the European Union, who account for as much as three quarters of all such support.
• Current WTO rules are considered inadequate because they allow substantial leeway for members that historically provided the most support, such as the EU and US, while failing to address the rapid increase in support within emerging economies like India and China.
• The report identifies a critical gap between actual trade-distorting support levels and the maximum permitted ceilings for most countries, suggesting that WTO members could agree to gradually lower these ceilings to reduce market distortions.
• The report proposes a simplified system for disciplining domestic support where limits are based on a percentage of the value of production (VoP) rather than fixed monetary levels, using a rolling average of 3–5 years.
• The authors recommend maintaining and potentially increasing 'green box' support for public goods—such as research, rural infrastructure, and pest control—as these are essential for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
• The report suggests that food bought at administered prices for public stockholding programs for food security should not count toward domestic support limits if the price is below an agreed international market price.

APA

Glauber, J. W., Hepburn, J., Laborde, D., & Murphy, S. (2020). What National Farm Policy Trends Could Mean for Efforts to Update WTO Rules on Domestic Support. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/farm-policy-trends-en.pdf

Chicago

Glauber, Joseph W., Jonathan Hepburn, David Laborde, and Sophia Murphy. What National Farm Policy Trends Could Mean for Efforts to Update WTO Rules on Domestic Support. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/farm-policy-trends-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Glauber |first1=Joseph W. |last2=Hepburn |first2=Jonathan |last3=Laborde |first3=David |last4=Murphy |first4=Sophia |title=What National Farm Policy Trends Could Mean for Efforts to Update WTO Rules on Domestic Support |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/farm-policy-trends-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{glauber2020what, author = {Glauber, Joseph W. and Hepburn, Jonathan and Laborde, David and Murphy, Sophia}, title = {{What National Farm Policy Trends Could Mean for Efforts to Update WTO Rules on Domestic Support}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/farm-policy-trends-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }