Agriculture talks Chair circulates draft text ahead of MC14 building on member submissions
In a bid to break the longstanding impasse in global farm trade talks, the Chair of the WTO’s agriculture negotiating body has circulated a draft ministerial text that integrates elements from numerous member submissions ahead of the upcoming 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). The initiative follows a meeting of the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture on 27 February, where delegations provided feedback on various proposed texts and highlighted persistent divergences on core issues.
Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain of Pakistan, who chairs the agriculture negotiations, distributed the proposed text after acknowledging that no single submission had secured consensus among members. The draft aims to provide negotiators and capitals with a common starting point for discussions as they prepare for intensive talks in the run-up to the ministerial. It builds directly on multiple contributions from WTO members, including political guidance and technical elements on unresolved issues such as food security, trade-distorting domestic support, market access, cotton, and special safeguard mechanisms.
Several delegations welcomed the circulation of the Chair’s draft as a pragmatic effort to stimulate convergence and give ministers something substantive to deliberate in Yaoundé. Some members argued that the draft text, or parts of it, could serve as the basis for a ministerial decision on agriculture if further refined. Others expressed reservations about specific language or priorities, underscoring ongoing gaps on how best to balance development objectives with market-opening commitments.
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Ambassador Hussain indicated he would begin formal consultations on the draft immediately and report on progress at the WTO’s General Council meeting scheduled for 10–11 March. The Chair’s efforts reflect a broader push to ensure that agriculture, a politically sensitive and technically complex negotiating track, produces a meaningful outcome at MC14 rather than being sidelined yet again due to lack of agreement.
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