The doha agenda negotiations on agriculture: What could they deliver?

Abstract

The World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on agriculture have emerged as the critical make-or-break element of the stalled Doha Development Agenda. This paper examines the potential implications of complete trade reform. The information obtained is used as a benchmark against which to evaluate options within the parameters agreed at the WTO in August 2004 and largely reaffirmed at the Hong Kong Ministerial of the WTO in December 2005. It is shown that agricultural trade reform is potentially more important as a source of gains to the world and to developing countries than reform of the much bigger nonagricultural merchandise sector.