Agricultural insurance, import regimes and stimulus packages to combat the coronavirus were some of the measures proposed at the 93rd regular meeting of the Agriculture Committee of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The meeting, in which the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) participated as an observer organization, was held virtually and was attended by delegations from 169 WTO member countries. «EThe great challenge for the countries of the Americas is to follow up on technical cooperation actions from its partners around the world, Promote trade facilitation and the elimination of unjustified barriers or disproportionate," explained Adriana Campos, from IICA's International Trade and Regional Integration Program.
In addition to analyzing the typical measures that countries apply to agricultural trade (subsidies, tariffs, export credits, among others), trade restrictions and flexibilities that are being taken to address the effects of Covid-19 were discussed.
Among others, insurance programs, a coffee and sugar price stabilization fund, a new class of ingredients for dairy products, wine sales policies, a review of the tariff rate quota system, and agricultural aid packages.
The meeting raised concerns about trade restrictions in response to Covid-19, as they could jeopardize food and nutritional security and slow down the economic recovery process. The role of the WTO and cooperation with other organizations to support information and dissemination of measures affecting agricultural trade was also highlighted, especially in light of the current crisis, which is causing sudden changes for companies.
The next meeting convened by the WTO to continue analyzing these issues will be held on September 22 and 23, and during the session, IICA will present to member countries the results of a study on technical cooperation for transparency of measures and participation in the multilateral trading system.
Source: Telam
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