The WTO


	The WTO, Agriculture and Sustainable Development Edited by Dr Heinrich Wohlmeyer, Austrian Association for Agriculture Research and Vienna University of Agricultural Sciences, Austria Theodor Quendler, Austrian Institute for Regional Studies and Spatial Planning, and, Department of Landscape Architecture, Vienna University of Technology, Austria 364pp \| 234 x 156mm \| Hardback ISBN 1 874719 45 4 \| £40.00 US$75.00 \| March 2002
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DESPITE THE Doha declaration of November 2001, the failure to start a new round of global trade negotiations at Seattle in December 1999 and the hostility of protesters to the trade liberalisation process and growing global economic and social disparities was a wake-up call for the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The ambitious goal of this ground-breaking book is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of liberalised world trade, in particular in the agricultural sector, and to investigate to what extent the current WTO agreements provide the necessary fail-safe devices to react to trade-related negative impacts on sustainability, environmental protection and food security. The background and interrelationship between the WTO, the tenets of sustainable development and the unique features of the agriculture and forestry sectors are explored, and conclusions regarding the deficits of the world trade system and its conflicts with basic societal goals—such as sustainability—are drawn. Agriculture and forestry have a particular affinity with what the authors call ‘strong sustainability’ and are to be among the major agenda items in forthcoming WTO negotiations. The book proposes that sustainable agricultural production techniques such as integrated and organic farming provide a series of related services to community and environment which could be severely prejudiced by wholesale trade liberalisation and the imposition of the large-scale production methods of the mega-trade giants of the USA and Europe. And yet the concept of sustainability is referred to only tangentially in the existing WTO agenda. *The WTO, Agriculture and Sustainable Development* argues that, without a formal recognition of this failing, the premise that free trade is inherently advantageous for all countries is a falsehood. Further, unfettered liberalisation is unsustainable and a social and environmental multilateral framework must be agreed to reinterpret or adapt a host of WTO regulations that are at odds with sustainable development. The core problem is that, under the current system, import duties can only be differentiated by direct goods and services and not by their means of production—sustainable or otherwise. Therefore, a range of environmental policy measures in the agricultural sector, such as the consideration of product life-cycles, the internalisation of external costs and a coupling of trade liberalisation with ecological obligations are proposed by the authors. In addition, they argue that unsustainable economic short-termism must be curbed and the use of the stick of trade sanctions and the carrot of financial benefits for good environmental performance be permitted to promote sustainable agricultural practices. This book will contribute greatly in addressing the lack of basic theoretical arguments at the intersection between trade and sustainable development—a failing that has already been bemoaned by trade policy-makers. It is highly recommended reading for all those involved or interested in the WTO negotiations, whether from multilateral organisations, governments, industry or civil society. Reviews The real worth is in its snapshot of current academic thinking. . . . (a) slice of the leading edge thinking of sustainable agricultural movement within the academic and no-profit making community, globally. *The Journal of Sustainable Agriculture* Back to the Top Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Heinrich Wohlmeyer 1. Preliminary issues and basic considerations Heinrich Wohlmeyer DOWNLOAD OR VIEW THIS CHAPTER ONLINE The intellectual co-ordinates The development of foreign trade policy Basic assumptions and their validity Transport and world trade The indispensable interdisciplinary viewpoint The systems theory perspective The ecological perspective The human biology perspective Appropriate technology Ethics and the legal code Further aspects References Section 1: The current performance of the world trade system and the World Trade Organisation 2. The present legal basis of the world trade system Richard Senti The establishment of the World Trade Organisation The starting point The failure of the International Trade Organisation The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as an intermediate solution From the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to the World Trade Organisation The present scope of the World Trade Organisation The World Trade Organisation as an institution Membership The individual bodies Decision-making and dispute settlement General World Trade Organisation regulations Mutual goals The most-favoured nation principle The national treatment principle The principle of reciprocity The removal or reduction of trade barriers Allowances for developing countries Environmental protection Environmental protection regulations found within World Trade Organisation agreements Environmentally relevant aspects and the interpretation and application of World Trade Organisation stipulations The consequences of the new World Trade Organisation orientation for the future world trade system The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The general regulations The supplementary agreements The General Agreement on Trade in Services Basic principles Improvement of market access Institutional regulations The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights The plurilateral agreements The Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft The Agreement on Government Procurement The Agreement on Agriculture Scope of the Agreement Market access The reduction of domestic support The reduction of export subsidies Further regulations Free-trade market versus special interests The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Scope of the Agreement The Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures The definition of subsidies Dispute settlement procedure The position of developing countries The institutions The necessity for further negotiations References 3. The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and basic aspects of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Katrin Forgó The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade Scope of applicability of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures The principle of necessity Prohibition of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination International standards and the permissibility of higher national standards Consistency Obligation to use the least trade-restrictive measure The precautionary principle Other important provisions and transparency Some important conclusions The relevance of international standards The scientific backing of measures Harmonisation and mutual recognition within the field of technical barriers to trade References 4. The producer support estimate and the aggregate measure of support: suitable gauges for evaluating agricultural and trade policy? Heinrich Wohlmeyer Background Assumption 1: the same production strategies are assumed to be sensible for all the different agricultural systems on the Earth. Assumption 2: all public interventions in the market are undesirable eo ipso. Assumption 3: all public compensation falls into the category of undesirable support, even if it involves public funds paid as compensation for performance in the interest of the general public. Summary The producer support estimate The aggregate measure of support Conclusions References Section 2: The theory of international trade 5. A few remarks on trade theory Franz Weiß A brief outline of trade theory The role of competition International trade and externalities Conclusions Does free trade prevent an efficient level of environmental and social standards? Theoretical considerations Empirical evidence References 6. Free trade and its effects: some critical comments Sigrid Stagl Carrying capacity, ecosystem resilience and international trade Is international trade harmful or beneficial for the environment? Links between trade and growth The delinking of the income–environment relationship The environmental Kuznets-curve hypothesis Concluding remarks References Section 3: International trade: agricultural and environmental aspects 7. International trade on the rise: a brief introduction Sigrid Stagl and Tobias Reichert References 8. Sustainability: a challenge for future economic and social policy Theodor Quendler and Bernd Schuh A short history of the term ‘sustainability’ Substantive dimensions of sustainability and their significance for agriculture A working suggestion for the definition of sustainability: an organic farming be seen as a synonym for sustainable agriculture? References 9. Agriculture, trade and the environment Franz Weiß References 10. The special case of agriculture Bernd Schuh Arguments for and against the special treatment of agriculture Arguments in favour of protecting agriculture Conclusions Social justice National macroeconomic goals Control of market structures References 11. Reasons for measures aimed at the stabilisation of production and markets in the agricultural sector Theodor Quendler References 12. Important factors influencing future scenarios regarding food supplies, world population and environment Theodor Quendler Securing food supplies: a global political challenge Food security is not simply a problem of the quantity produced Development of world population and food security References 13. Environmental issues and their significance for agriculture and the food industry Theodor Quendler and Tobias Reichert Environmental management: a challenge for international co-operation Problems of agriculture and the food industry: an issue not exclusively concerning world trade Soils: the very basis for agriculture and the food industry The current situation Availability of agricultural area and the potential for improved yields Soil degradation as a cause of productivity decreases Water as an environmental factor in agriculture and plant production The current situation Marked increase in the use of fresh water for agricultural purposes Water: a basic and often over-used resource Biodiversity References 14. Analysis of current developments in international agricultural trade Tobias Reichert Remarks concerning the procedure and the database Developments of world trade in major agricultural products since the completion of the Uruguay Round Cereals Wheat Rice Coarse grains Oilseeds Meat Milk Results and conclusions Effects of the Uruguay Round Key players and their interests Recommendations References 15. The World Trade Organisation and Agenda 2000 Heinrich Wohlmeyer The core and the tragedy of Agenda 2000 Basic orientation: the core Conflicting objectives Required initiatives Initiatives required at an international level Improved private market organisation at the EU level A closer relationship between humankind, nature and environmental protection Supporting initiatives on a domestic level Remarks on the agricultural trade conflict Alliance with the developing countries Federal Agricultural Improvement Act 1996 and Agenda 2000 Position of the Cairns Group What will be the future agricultural paradigm? References Section 4: Theoretical propositions for harmonising sustainable agriculture and free trade 16. Solutions within the existing theoretical framework: environmental and trade policy measures Bernd Schuh Interlinkages between agricultural and environmental policy: or, why environmental policy measures are relevant in agricultural policy Agricultural policy goals Environmental policy goals Policy goals and solutions Embedding the two policy fields of environment and agriculture into the world trade system Policy instruments suitable for guiding agriculture towards sustainability and in conformity with the present world trade order Fiscal measures Non-fiscal measures References 17. Ecological economics as a new integrative approach Sigrid Stagl References 18. Conclusions and proposals for solutions Theodor Quendler, Franz Weiß and Heinrich Wohlmeyer Necessary further development of the legal framework and its application Basic orientations The necessity of external guardrails The World Trade Organisation in development: illustrative panel decisions The indispensability of framework agreements Legal development through case law and authentic interpretation Improving the acknowledgement of social, health and environmental aspects Essential problems Does the World Trade Organisation limit an effective environmental policy? What could be changed? Agriculture: a special case Non-trade concerns Domestic support Export subsidies Import restrictions References 19. Final remarks Heinrich Wohlmeyer Considering the colliding world-views (paradigms) as background Can isolated negotiations for the agricultural sector be justified? On evaluating the success of the Uruguay Round in the agricultural sector Learning to understand the plurality of interests Institutional benchmarking: conditio sine qua non The need for social legitimacy The courage to call for change References List of abbreviations The majority of the text in this book was translated from the original German into English by Renée von Paschen and Liese Katschinka.