Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism after the July Framework: How do we Move Forward?
An ICTSD Informal Roundtable

30 September 2004, Geneva

Description

On 1st August 2004 WTO Members adopted, the General Council Decision on the Doha Work Programme. Annex A of this Decision sets out a framework constituting the basis for the crafting of full modalities during the next phase of negotiations. Paragraph 41 of the framework clearly states: "Developing countries will have the flexibility to designate an appropriate number of products as Special Products, based on criteria of food security, livelihood security and rural development needs." The text also indicates that the criteria and treatment of special products will be further specified. In addition, paragraph 42 states that "A Special Safeguard Mechanism (SMM) will be established for use by developing countries", the details of which will be developed in the next phase of the negotiations.

In the post framework phase, developing countries face a major challenge in fleshing out those concepts and translating them into operationally effective and meaningful provisions. As a contribution to this process, this ICTSD Informal Roundtable will be a timely opportunity for experts and WTO trade negotiators to discuss possible situations where the flexibilities provided by the SP/SSM concepts are necessary to ensure food security, livelihood security and rural development and exchange views on relevant indicators and possible modalities for SPs/SSM in the context of WTO negotiations. It is also hoped that the Roundtable will provide broad orientations for undertaking policy-relevant activities in the run-up to Hong Kong, as part of a new ICTSD project aimed at effectively integrating SP/SSM in multilateral agriculture trade.

The Roundtable comprised two main sessions. Each session was introduced by a resource person presenting his/her ideas on the relevant theme followed by an open discussion among experts and trade-negotiators initiated by a number of key discussants. In keeping with the objective of earlier dialogues organised by ICTSD, the Roundtable provided a platform for a frank and open discussion in a non-negotiating setting with the ultimate goal of promoting a better understanding of relevant issues at the interface of agriculture, trade and sustainable development.