Sectoral Initiative on Cotton is within Rules of WTO
Source: International Cotton Advisory Committee Date: 2007-04-06
A Conference on the Trade and Development Aspects of Cotton in the Doha Round was held on 23 March 2007 in Accra Ghana as a component of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the African Cotton Association (A.C.A.). The ICAC Secretariat and the A.C.A., in cooperation with the WTO Secretariat, organized the Conference. Oxfam America and Oxfam Great Britain supported the Conference.
H.E. Ambassador Samuel Amehou, Ambassador of Benin to International Organizations in Geneva, gave the keynote address, and Mr. Ibrahim Malloum, President of the A.C.A. served as chair. Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director, Doha Development Agenda Special Duties Division, took part. In addition, Mr. Celestin T. Tiendrebeogo, Directeur General, SOFITEX, Burkina Faso; Mr. Muzoora Hans Windsor, Principal Market Information and Monitoring Officer, CDO, Uganda; and Mr. Mohammed Adam Nashiru, Representative of Ghanaian Cotton Farmers Association provided their perspectives as panelists.
Major Conclusions From the Conference:
Athletes Who Use Drugs Are Banned From Competition; Likewise, Producers Who Receive Subsidies Should Not Be Allowed To Continue To Compete: African participants believe that the current regimen of government measures in cotton is unfair. Africans emphasize that a relatively small number of farmers in developed countries receive billions of dollars in direct support each season that distort production and trade, while approximately 20 million cotton growers in Africa receive almost no direct income or price support.
Africans draw an analogy between athletic competition and economic competition: In international competitions, athletes who are caught using drugs are stripped of their medals and banned from further competition. Yet, in the world cotton market, producers who receive an unfair advantage in the form of direct subsidies are allowed to continue to compete.
No Outcome On The Doha Round If No Outcome On Cotton:
Africans are aware that when the Doha Round was launched in 2001, cotton was not included as a separate item for discussion. However, since the introduction in April 2003 of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton by the Cotton-4 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali, cotton has achieved prominence within the Doha Round. For Africans, the WTO is cotton and cotton is the WTO. Cotton is viewed as a test of the legitimacy of the Doha Round as a development round.
If We Care About Distortions In Cotton Caused By Domestic Support, We Must Care About The Doha Round:
Africans realize that without a successful conclusion to the Doha Round there will not be progress on cotton subsidies. Countries agreed in 2004 to treat cotton specifically, ambitiously and expeditiously in two tracts within the Doha Round: trade and development.
Trade issues in cotton are being addressed within the overall negotiations on agriculture, including all three pillars. At the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, developed countries agreed to eliminate all forms of export subsidies on cotton in 2006. They also agreed to grant duty free/quota free access for cotton exports from least developed countries from the commencement of the implementation period.
However, Africans recognize that progress on the pillar of domestic support is dependent on an overall agreement on agriculture within the Doha Round. On this pillar at Hong Kong, the WTO agreed that as an outcome of the negotiations, trade distorting domestic support for cotton production would be reduced more ambitiously under whatever formula is agreed, and that it should be implemented over a shorter period of time than generally applicable.
