The World Trade Organization reached a groundbreaking accord in Kenya late Saturday which obliges developed countries to eliminate subsidies for their agricultural exports as requested by the least developed nations to protect their farmers.
This is the “most significant outcome on agriculture” in WTO history because it ends one of the greatest distortions in the market, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said with regard to the statement approved at the end of the organization’s ministerial meeting in Nairobi.
This and other decisions contained in the ministerial statement are intended to promote the Doha Development Round, though developing economies like India, Cuba and Venezuela feared that it didn’t go far enough and could have “serious consequences” for those countries.
Providing subsidies for the export of agricultural products by developed countries has curbed their imports of goods from developing economies, for which reason the elimination of this price-cutting financial aid has been one of the WTO’s historic demands in order to level the playing field.
According to the agreement adopted on agricultural exports, developing countries must also eliminate their subsidies, but not until 2018, and with some exceptions until 2023.
The WTO meeting ended Saturday in Nairobi after overcoming serious discrepancies that had rich and poor countries at odds to such an extent that the summit had to continue for an extra day.
