Expiry of the 'peace clause'
There is now controversy over when the so-called 'peace clause' (Article 13 of the Agreement on Agriculture) will lapse. Developing countries assume that the nine-year period specified in the Uruguay Agreement will end on January 1st 2004. The EU and the USA however consider that it may not lapse until mid 2004 or even, for some products, until October 2004, since this corresponds with nine years after notification to the WTO of the measures concerned. For the EU the renewal of the 'peace clause' is seen as a precondition for any continuation of WTO negotiations, whereas for most developing country governments this is a non-starter, unless substantial concessions are made in exchange. Comment: The question of the peace clause is central to the issue of negotiating leverage. Without a renewal of the peace clause the EU would find its agricultural regime open to challenge at the WTO on several fronts. Should a renewal be agreed prior to the negotiation of a new agreement on agriculture, pressure on the EU to move beyond the reforms already agreed as part of the on-going process of CAP reform will be reduced. However for the ACP a rash of new challenges to the CAP could lead to a range of hasty changes, which might disregard the interests of ACP countries.
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2003
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52823 http://agritrade.cta.int/Back-issues/Agriculture-monthly-news-update/2003/December-2003 |
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