WTO members have taken steps to reform the agricultural sector and address high subsidies and trade barriers that distort agricultural trade. The overall goal is to establish a fairer trading system that improves market access and improves the livelihoods of farmers around the world. The WTO Agreement on Agriculture, which came into force in 1995, is an important step towards reforming agricultural trade and towards fairer and more competitive development. The Committee on Agriculture is monitoring the implementation of the agreement. Trade in most agricultural raw materials is expected to grow over the next decade, but at a slower pace than before. Trade policy will continue to play an important role, as trade instruments are often used to ensure food supply in times of crisis. The conclusion of the so-called “mega-regional” agreements could further increase the volume of trade. Domestic support regimes for agriculture are governed by the agriculture agreement, which came into force in 1995 and was negotiated during the Uruguay Round (1986-1994). The long-term goal of the AoA is to establish a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system and to initiate a reform process through negotiations on promised commitments and safeguards and by defining more effective and operationally effective rules and disciplines.
Agriculture is therefore special, because the sector has its own agreement, the provisions of which are given priority. As part of its trade dialogue initiative, the WTO is launching trade dialogues on food to promote a debate on the role of international trade in food protection. Experts from governments, non-governmental organizations, businesses, universities, think tanks and foundations are invited to discuss the most current topics of food trade. Any discussion can be followed live. These agreements provide some flexibility in implementation by developing countries as well as for WTO members (special and differentiated treatment) and least developed countries (LDCs) and net food-importing developing countries (special provisions). The WTO agreement on agriculture aims to create “a fair and market-oriented agricultural trade system.” It contains rules that apply to all WTO members to provide for a substantial gradual reduction in agricultural aid and land protection. This agreement is part of the results achieved during the Uruguay Round and was a decisive step towards a greater direction towards the global agriculture market. The European Parliament has always closely followed the progress of multilateral negotiations in general and agricultural negotiations in particular. A number of resolutions illustrate this interest (for example. (B) the resolution of 18 December 1999 at the third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Seattle; 13 December 2001, on the WTO meeting in Doha; 12 February 2003 on the WTO negotiations on agricultural trade; September 25, 2003, through the fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Cancun; 1 December 2005 on the preparation of the sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong; 4 April 2006, 9 October 2008, 16 December 2009, 14 September 2011, 21 November 2013 and 26 November 2015 for the Doha Round assessment; and 15 November 2017 on multilateral negotiations for the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires).