Agriculture food and safety

This new edition provides an introduction to the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture outlining its key principles the work of the Agriculture Committee and how disputes have interpreted WTO law on agriculture. The publication includes the full text of the Agriculture Agreement as well as the decisions taken on agriculture at the 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference. A frequently asked questions section provides a handy overview of the Agriculture Agreement and the issues covered by it. The publication also provides an update on agriculture negotiations at the WTO. This publication forms part of the WTO Agreements Series a set of compact booklets on selected WTO agreements. Other publications in the series include Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade.

The WTO Secretariat has prepared this booklet to assist public understanding of the SPS Agreement it concerns the application of food safety and animal and plant health regulations. The first section of the booklet presents the basic structure of WTO agreements; the second looks at the key features of the SPS Agreement; the third addresses a number of frequently-asked questions; and the fourth is the legal text of the agreement.

Une nouvelle brochure présentée le 27 juillet souligne le ferme engagement des Membres de l’OMC quel que soit leur niveau de développement en faveur de la transparence et de la prévention des différends commerciaux. Les renseignements contenus dans cette brochure sont fondés sur l’examen de la mise en œuvre par les Membres de l’Accord sur l’application des mesures sanitaires et phytosanitaires (Accord SPS) réalisé en 2020.

Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement aims to ensure that regulations standards testing and certification procedures followed by WTO members do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. Annual Review of TBT Agreement The WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade collects data on an annual basis on the implementation of the TBT Agreement. The information in this brochure is based on the 2022 review.

The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference marks a major step forward for ocean sustainability by prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies which are a key factor in the widespread depredation of the world’s fish stocks. Implementing the new disciplines will present challenges for many developing country members especially least-developed countries. The objective of this report is to examine existing bilateral and multilateral assistance in support of sustainable fisheries including how this may help countries meet obligations under the new Agreement.

International trade in food has helped to reduce global poverty and hunger. However illicit trade in food and food fraud undermine the global food system and endanger public health. This publication looks into the challenges of combating illicit practices such as smuggling and counterfeiting. Contributors examine the topic from a variety of perspectives discussing how best to address illegal food trade and the role the WTO could play.

Methods of production and processing as well as the paths that food travels along from farm to fork are continuously evolving. The standards world must be ready to adjust to ensure that food trade can continue to flow smoothly. Stakeholders will need to be prepared able to pick up the signals that change is taking place and to steer their national frameworks accordingly.

The annual value of trade in agricultural products has grown almost three-fold over the past decade largely in emerging economies and developing countries reaching USD 1.7 trillion. Over the past two decades the reduction in tariffs through global and regional trade agreements has provided greater opportunities for the expansion of global food trade. However in order to trade internationally and access markets for high-value products producers must be able to meet food standards. Governments apply food standards to ensure that food is safe and meets quality and labelling requirements. The use of international food standards worldwide helps reduce trade costs by making trade more transparent and efficient allowing food to move more smoothly between markets.

This publication Trade and Food Standards has been jointly prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The WTO Agreement on Agriculture entered into force when the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into being on 1 January 1995. Its main objective is to reform agricultural trade so that it is closer to competitive market conditions — but also to serve other objectives.

Historically governments have intervened in the agriculture sector more than in other sectors. Agriculture was always covered by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade which entered into force in 1948. But numerous exemptions meant agricultural trade escaped most of the disciplines that applied more generally to trade in industrial products. The result was the widespread use of measures that obstructed imports — import bans limits on quantities that could be imported (quotas) high import duties import duties whose rates varied and so created market uncertainty minimum import prices and various impediments not related to tariffs such as regulations and the activities of state trading enterprises. Major agricultural products such as cereals meat dairy sugar and a range of fruits and vegetables faced trade barriers on a scale unseen in the rest of merchandise trade.

Trade in food is difficult to imagine without standards. Food standards give confidence to consumers in the safety quality and authenticity of what they eat. By setting down a common understanding on different aspects of food for consumers producers and governments standards enable trade to take place. If every government applies different food standards trade is more costly and it is more difficult to ensure that food is safe and meets consumers' expectations.

Global trade has both brought significant benefits to reducing hunger around the world but it has also increased the complexity of the food supply chain. This complexity is a strong enabler for food fraud. The more links across the supply chain and the longer the distance between where food is originally grown or produced and finally consumed provides opportunities for fraudsters to act for their benefit. The role of the WTO is fundamental in helping to reduce fraud. The WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement and the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) sit at the heart of global trade in food and help along with other international agreements standards and enforcement bodies strengthen our global food supply while reducing cross-border food fraud activity. This chapter argues that it is very important for all stakeholders of the food system to work together to keep the system resilient and safe from fraudulent activity with the final responsibility for keeping consumers safe ultimately resting with the food producer.

The WTO rulebook can be used by members in the fight against illicit trade in food and food fraud in particular the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement). This chapter explores the various definitions of food fraud providing an overview of the main food products that have been the target of fraud and the most notable incidents that have arisen over the past two decades. Building on the outcomes of the WTO’s Annual Agriculture Symposium in December 2023 dedicated to this topic the chapter asks whether it is time for a more explicit conversation at the WTO.

The WTO has long been committed to the fight against illicit trade which undermines legitimate business activity fosters corruption and denies governments potential tax revenue needed to improve socioeconomic conditions. Under the leadership of Director-General Okonjo-Iweala the WTO Secretariat has been examining how WTO rules help members to resolve some of the challenges posed by such illicit trade.

As the only global organization dealing with the rules of international trade the WTO has a key role to play in members’ efforts to tackle illicit agri-food trade through its rules and institutional framework. Specifically the WTO offers members a variety of tools and best practices as well as the opportunity to exchange information and implement policies both within and at the border that can assist them in combating this phenomenon. This chapter examines the most relevant parts of the WTO rulebook to fight the trade in illicit agri-food and the provisions which allow WTO members to derogate from commitments when fulfilling legitimate public policy goals. This chapter highlights that the lack of disciplines expressly addressing illicit agri-food trade does not prevent the WTO agreements from providing members with several important tools that they can use to tackle the problem.

El 02 de septiembre de 2011 la OMC hizo público el informe del Grupo especial sobre el caso “Estados Unidos - Medidas que afectan a la producción y venta de cigarrillos de clavo de olor”.

Complaints by Ecuador Guatemala Honduras Mexico and the United States. The complainants in this case other than Ecuador had requested consultations with the European Communities on the same issue on 28 September 1995 (DS16). After Ecuador’s accession to the WTO the current complainants again requested consultations with the European Communities on 5 February 1996. The complainants alleged that the European Communities’ regime for importation sale and distribution of bananas is inconsistent with Articles I II III X XI and XIII of the GATT 1994 as well as provisions of the Import Licensing Agreement the Agreement on Agriculture the TRIMs Agreement and the GATS.

El 30 de agosto de 2002 la OMC hizo público el informe arbitral sobre el caso “Estados Unidos - Trato fiscal aplicado a las “empresas de ventas en el extranjero””.

On 24 February 1997 Brazil requested consultations with the EC in respect of the EC regime for the importation of certain poultry products and the implementation by the EC of the Tariff Rate Quota for these products. Brazil contended that the EC measures are inconsistent with Articles X and XXVII of GATT 1994 and Articles 1 and 3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. Brazil also contended that the measures nullify or impair benefits accruing to it directly or indirectly under GATT 1994.

Le 08 octobre 1999 l’OMC a publié le rapport du Groupe spécial dans l’affaire “États-Unis - Traitement fiscal des “sociétés de ventes à l’étranger””.