Argentina urges WTO to “eliminate distortions” in trade of agri-bioindustrial products

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This was a joint declaration with Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, signed by Argentina’s Julián Domínguez and the ministers of the agricultural portfolios of the Southern Agricultural Council. A common position was established with regard to the agricultural and fisheries negotiations at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, together with the equivalent ministries of Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, urged the World Trade Organization (WTO) to “move forward with speed and determination” to obtain concrete results in the process of “reforming the rules governing agricultural trade” during the XII Ministerial Conference to be held in Geneva from 30 November to 3 December.

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In this regard, the Undersecretary for Policy Coordination, Ariel Martínez, stressed that work is being carried out “in close coordination with the Ministries of Agriculture of the region” and emphasized that “what we agreed for the WTO is an extension of the work we have already done for the Food Systems Summit, the G20 and COP26 where President Alberto Fernández has clearly stated that agribusiness is part of the solution to the challenges of sustainability.”

“We need to continue building regional positions in the face of the challenges posed by the agenda for the coming years. We need clear and undistorted rules of the game to take advantage of the full potential of our sector,” Martínez added.

The Declaration of the Southern Agricultural Council (CAS) urged the WTO to “create more equitable conditions for international trade” and “eliminate the distortions currently in force.”

“It will be necessary to make substantial improvements in market access for agricultural products, which continue to be affected by tariff and non-tariff barriers that have no scientific basis,” said the document, which was signed by the national minister, Julián Domínguez, together with Teresa Correa da Costa Dias (Brazil), María Emilia Undurraga (Chile), Santiago Bertoni (Paraguay) and Fernando Mattos (Uruguay).

They also stressed “the importance of having a fairer, more transparent, predictable and equitable international trade system” as a “central tool” to contribute to the food security of all the peoples of the world, improve the living standards of producers and strengthen the social, economic and environmental sustainability of agro-bio-industrial production.

In this context, the CAS member countries called for a 50% reduction in production subsidies by 2030. They also called for “substantial improvements in market access” for agri-bio-industrial products.

They also raised “the importance of concluding the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies to prohibit certain forms of subsidies that may contribute to overcapacity and overfishing and eliminate those that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”

The Southern Agricultural Council represents, as a whole, 12% of the world’s exports of agro-bio-industrial products. It has a fundamental contribution to global food security.