Actions that result in stability must be pursued, Lamy tells agriculture conference
4 Mar 2009
Analysts differ in their view of whether commodity prices will rise or fall, but either way a Doha Round deal in agriculture would help stabilize the world economy and supply food to where it is needed,WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said on 4 March 2009
He was addressing the “Outlook 2009” conference of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), a government economic research agency in
“Agriculture and the Environment in the Midst of the Current Economic Turmoil; Perspective from the WTO” —
Ladies and gentlemen,
After having followed your work and read your studies with great interest for many years, it is a pleasure to finally be at ABARE! ABARE’s work on complex agricultural policy issues, fisheries and forestry, minerals, energy and climate change have been particularly instructive to us all. It is think-tanks such as ABARE that allow the WTO’s work to go forward; that help the WTO make sense of the complex landscape of issues that constitutes its day-to-day work.
The WTO, as you know, did not succeed in reaching a final agreement on modalities for agriculture and industry — two key pillars of the Doha Round — at the end of last year. Such an agreement would have paved the way for the complex, and quite tedious process, of turning guidelines into legally binding obligations — or “scheduling” as we call it in our jargon.
And, just as importantly, it would have paved the way for the completion of other areas of the Doha Round, such as the services negotiations, the reduction of harmful fisheries subsidies, or trade and the environment. These subjects would have no doubt gained steam had we been successful last year; but, to our great dismay, agreement proved elusive.
Source:WTO
