Leaders Advocate For Sustainable Trade Practices At The WTO Conference
At the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference held in Abu Dhabi the week of February 26th, U.S. trade officials highlighted the importance of fair and sustainable trade practices, while U.S. dairy industry organizations encouraged reforms and efforts to help improve market access for U.S. ag exports.
In remarks at the Ministerial Conversation on Trade and Sustainable Development, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai emphasized that trade can be a positive force for sustainable development if it is used to empower workers, protect the environment and promote fair competition.
“Non-market policies and practices undermine fair competition. They create trade distortions and non-market excess capacity, which undermine our sustainability objectives and climate goals,” Tai said in her address. “They also block opportunities for members of all stages of development to participate in supply networks.”
Advocating For Sustainable Trade Practices In Dairy Exports
As the conference kicked off February 26th, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) stressed the importance of reform and highlighted ways that the U.S. government can work to break the gridlock that has hampered U.S. dairy exports in recent years.
“Meaningful reforms that would improve market access for agricultural products and the WTO’s dispute settlement system have escaped recent WTO ministerial conferences. The U.S. dairy industry is limited by this inaction as we seek to alleviate global food insecurity challenges through our nutritious and sustainable products,” says Becky Rasdall, vice president of trade policy and international affairs, IDFA.
Strengthening Trade Frameworks For Sustainability
“The U.S. dairy industry and our partners across U.S. agriculture are hopeful this conference will chart a path toward concrete, binding commitments, consistent with our recent proposals to the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” Rasdall adds. “In particular, we suggest that ongoing conversations around domestic support are balanced by commensurate market access discussions, and we urge the U.S. government to work to restore a binding dispute settlement system at the WTO.”
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) also backed efforts by U.S. negotiators to advance an agriculture work plan and oppose trade distorting proposals at the WTO ministerial. NMPF and USDEC representatives were on the ground in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, supporting and advising U.S. trade negotiators on agricultural priorities during the ongoing negotiations.
Addressing Challenges And Leveraging Opportunities For Sustainable Trade Practices
As with prior ministerials, there was the concern that a small group of countries would attempt to extract concessions on one issue by withholding support on other broadly supported provisions. NMPF and USDEC note that while it is evident that most countries do not want the WTO to take a step backward, a few members have been leveraging unrelated issues to advance proposals that would expand agricultural trade distorting measures like public stockholding. The groups say they strongly support the U.S. government’s leadership in standing firm against any attempts to weaken trade disciplines.
“We should not allow one country to dictate the outcome of the negotiations in agriculture for concessions on other unrelated issues,” says Gregg Doud, president and CEO, NMPF. “We are privileged to have strong negotiators in Abu Dhabi who are defending against attempts to introduce additional trade distorting elements in the WTO. NMPF supports a holistic work plan on agriculture that includes an equal commitment to increasing market access and limiting domestic support.”
The Future Of Trade: Sustainability And Dispute Resolution
USDEC also says it commends the U.S. negotiating team for its strong stance to defend U.S. interests and encourages it to stand firm against any tradeoffs between agriculture and other sectors.
“The WTO is an important organization that has served its members well. We need to protect its important function in governing a rules-based trading system while also pursuing needed reforms, particularly to improve the dispute settlement mechanism,” says Krysta Harden, president and CEO, USDEC. “We are also encouraged that WTO negotiations are highlighting the important role that trade has in addressing sustainability concerns, particularly given the U.S. dairy industry’s leadership in growing sustainable production and feeding the world.”
The groups note that WTO provides a rules-based trading system that provides stability and predictability for U.S. dairy exporters. The system includes provisions that reduce trade barriers and a dispute settlement mechanism for holding member countries accountable to their obligations, allowing U.S. dairy products to compete globally on a level playing field.
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Source: Cheese Market News
Image Courtesy of The World Trade Organization (WTO)