Syllabus: GS-III
Subject: economy
Topic: Trade and External Sector
Issue: WTO-Public stockholding
Context: India’s agenda for upcoming WTO’s MC 13 – a permanent solution to public stock holding of grains for food security.
Public stock-holding (PSH) programme
- Under this the government procures crops like rice and wheat from farmers at Minimum Support Price, and stores and distributes food grains to the poor.
Criticism: Developed nations argue that such programmes distort global trade prices of food grains.
WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA):
| 1. Total Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) is the total amount of subsidies a country provides to its agricultural sector in a given year.
2. De-minimis level refers to a threshold level of support below which countries are not required to report or reduce. It is a. 5% of the value of agricultural production for developed countries and b. 10% for developing countries. |
Bali Conference (2013) : A ‘peace clause’ was signed as an interim measure which stated that no country would be legally barred from food security programmes even if the subsidy breached the limits (10%).
The peace clause is continues until a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding and agricultural subsidies is arrived at.
| World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference(WTO MC)
It is the organisation’s topmost decision-making body. It typically meets every two years and brings together ministers from all WTO member countries. Functions: ● Review the functioning of the multilateral trading system and take action on its future work. ● Make decisions on all matters under any of the WTO agreements. ● Issue ministerial declarations and decisions to guide the work of the WTO. Recent Conferences: ● MC12: Geneva (Geneva Package) ○ Landmark agreements on fisheries subsidies and WTO’s response to emergencies. ○ Package also included decisions on agriculture, e-commerce moratorium, and transparency in government procurement. ● MC 13 is scheduled in February 2024 in Abu Dhabi. |
