Liberalizacja handlu artykułami rolno-spożywczymi na forum Rundy Doha WTO – stan i perspektywy negocjacji

Despite the fact that the WTO’s Doha Round and its multinational negotiations have been ongoing for nearly a decade, the participating counties have as yet to conclude the final agreement. One of the most important – and controversial – issues is the rules governing the liberalisation of international trade in agriculture. The current text of draft Doha modalities anticipates significant concessions, to be made by member countries to reduce tariffs on agricultural and food products and trade distorting domestic support to the agricultural sector. A consensus on the complete elimination of all forms of export subsidies has also been reached. Issues still to be agreed upon include the special safeguard mechanism (SSM) for developing countries and rules on sensitive products which would be subject to smaller tariff cuts. A new initiative to boost negotiations, involving heads of state of some country members, and supported by experts and the Director General of the WTO, has recently been announced. There is much to be gained from the multilateral liberalisation of trade, they have said, but also warn that the failure of the Doha Round would, apart from carrying a high cost of lost opportunities, seriously damage the WTO’s credibility and lead to the erosion of the multilateral trade system.