Implications of the July 2008 Draft Agricultural Modalities for Sensitive Products

by Ariel Ibañez, María Marta Rebizo and Agustín Tejeda

Agricultural Trade and Sustainable Development Series • Issue Paper No. 16

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One of the most contentious issues in the current WTO Doha Round of agricultural trade negotiations is the flexible treatment for sensitive products, as it may significantly alter countries’ overall balance of gains and losses. As sensitive product talks have become extremely complex, ICTSD has commissioned Ariel Ibañez, María Marta Rebizo and Agustín Tejeda of the Fundación INAI in Argentina to analyse this aspect of the chair’s July 2008 draft modalities text and make the issue more accessible to a wider audience.

This study summarizes the key issues and methodologies used in the negotiations; it employs a set of indicators and domestic consumption data to identify tariff lines likely to be declared sensitive; and it suggests which countries are most likely to be affected. The work also looks at how different scenarios will lead to varying degrees of market opening through quota expansion and specifies which exporting countries and products will be most affected.

*Due to the number and breadth of tables generated by this paper they are also available as a seperate file included in this post.

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