Agricultural Subsidies in the WTO Green Box: Ensuring Coherence with Sustainable Development Goals

Cambridge University Press, 12/3/2009
EAN 9780521519694, ISBN10: 0521519691

Hardcover, 706 pages, 22.8 x 15.2 x 3.5 cm
Language: English

Do the World Trade Organization's rules on 'green box' farm subsidies allow both rich and poor countries to achieve important goals such as food security, or do they worsen poverty, distort trade and harm the environment? Current WTO requirements set no ceiling on the amount of green box subsidies that governments can provide, on the basis that these payments cause only minimal trade distortion. Governments are thus increasingly shifting their subsidy spending into this category, as they come under pressure to reduce subsidies that are more directly linked to production. However, growing evidence nonetheless suggests that green box payments can affect production and trade, harm farmers in developing countries and cause environmental damage. By bringing together new research and critical thinking, this book examines the relationship between green box subsidies and the achievement of sustainable development goals, and explores options for future reform.

1. Overview Christophe Bellmann and Jonathan Hepburn
Part I. The Recent Evolution of Agricultural Trade Policy Reform
2. The historical context of the green box Néstor Stancanelli
3. Doha Round negotiations on the green box, and beyond Jonathan Hepburn and Christophe Bellmann
4. The reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy Alan Swinbank
5. Farm policy reform in the US
past progress and future direction David Orden
6. Agricultural trade policy reform in Japan Masayoshi Honma
Part II. The Focus, Extent and Economic Impact of Green Box Subsidies
7. Agricultural support in the green box
an analysis of EU, US and Japanese green box spending Jesús Antón
8. Green box subsidies and trade-distorting support
is there a cumulative impact? Carlos Galperín and Ivana Doporto Miguez
9. The distributional structure of green box subsidies in the European Union and France Vincent Chatellier
10. The distributional structure of US green box subsidies Harry de Gorter
Part III. Green Box Subsidies and Developing Countries
11. Agricultural subsidies in the WTO green box
opportunities and challenges for developing countries André Nassar, Maria Elba Rodriguez-Alcalá and Cinthia C. Costa
12. Use of green box measures by developing countries
an assessment Biswajit Dhar
13. A Chinese perspective on the green box Jianmin Xie
14. African countries and the green box Abena Oduro
Part IV. Green Box Subsidies and the Environment
15. The environmental impact of green box subsidies
exploring the linkages Ron Steenblik and Charles Tsai
16. The environmental impact of European Union green box subsidies Ariel Brunner and Harry Huyton
17. The environmental impact of US green box subsidies Jane Earley
18. Biofuels subsidies and the green box Tim Josling, Freeman Spogli and David Blandford
Part V. Looking Forward
How Can Change Take Place?
19. Improving monitoring and surveillance of green box subsidies Andrea Cerda
20. Subsidy reform in the EU context
options for achieving change Teresa Cavero
21. Subsidy reform in the US context
deviating from decoupling Ann Tutwiler
22. Subsidy reform in Japan
options for achieving change Kazuhito Yamashita
23. Towards a green box subsidy regime that promotes sustainable development
strategies for achieving change Pedro de Camargo Neto and Renato Henz.

'This book constitutes a long-awaited and valuable contribution to clarifying what has become the core of agricultural negotiations: the fear that abusive migration toward so-called green-box subsidies might render meaningless any apparent progress in reduction of the more obvious distorting modalities. It is a well-balanced and thoughtful analysis of all relevant arguments in the debate and provides trade negotiators with an enlightened guidance to help the Doha Round deliver on its promise of putting world trade to the service of development needs and environmental improvement.' Ambassador Rubens Ricupero, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 'ICTSD has done the cause of agricultural trade reform a genuine service with its initiative to commission and edit this collection of papers on the impacts of existing Green Box subsidy expenditures and the case for changes in the WTO rules governing them. The book brings together thoughtful contributions from some of the best known experts in the field ... [It] is a valuable compilation of analysis, comment and suggestions on the issues and deserves wide exposure.' Joanna Hewitt, former lead WTO negotiator and previous Head of Division in the OECD's Agriculture Directorate