Agriculture Technology Interview Questions and Answers
Question - 11 : - Which Are The Main Coalition Groups In The Agriculture Negotiations? Is India A Member Of Any Coalition?
Answer - 11 : -
The main coalition groups in the agriculture negotiations are the G-20, the G-10, the G-33, the Cairns Group, the African Group, the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) Group and the Cotton-4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali). Other groupings include the group of small and vulnerable economies (SVEs), Least developed countries (LDCs) and the Tropical Products group. India is a member of the G-20 and G-33 coalition groups. The G-20, led by Brazil, is a coalition of developing countries pressing for ambitious reforms of agriculture in developed countries with some flexibility for developing countries. The G-33, led by Indonesia, is spearheading the developing country effort to arrive at satisfactory modalities on Special Products and the Special Safeguard Mechanism as provided for in the mandate of the Doha Round. These two measures are critical parts of the special and differential treatment provisions for developing countries.
Question - 12 : - How Will Agricultural Tariffs Be Reduced In The Doha Round?
Answer - 12 : -
There are two main elements in the market access modalities that are on the table:
- Band-wise tariff reductions; and
- Flexibilities or deviations from the prescribed tariff reductions to be used by members (developed and developing) to address their special needs.
Tariffs are proposed to be cut according to a formula, which prescribes steeper cuts on higher tariffs. These reductions are to be made from bound rates.
Question - 13 : - Will Tariffs On All Agricultural Products Be Cut As A Result Of The Doha Round Negotiations?
Answer - 13 : -
The mandate of the Doha Round provides for flexibilities or deviations from the prescribed tariff reductions to be used by members (both developed and developing) to address their special needs.
Question - 14 : - Will India Continue To Have Adequate Policy Space To Raise Tariffs On Agricultural Products Even After The Doha Round?
Answer - 14 : -
The tariff cuts to be taken by developing countries would be moderated by four flexibilities that are built into the mandate of the Doha Round:
Developing countries are required to undertake no more than a maximum overall average cut of 36%. If the band-wise cuts described above lead to an overall average cut higher than 36%, they can take a lower cut proportionately across bands to keep within 36%. A simple slotting of India's tariffs into the appropriate tariff band and the applicable cut, results in an overall average cut of around 41%. So, we can scale back the cuts by the same factor in each band so that the overall average cut is no more than 36%.
Question - 15 : - How Will India Protect The Interests Of Its Poor And Vulnerable Farmers?
Answer - 15 : -
The Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration of December 2005 provides that developing country members would have the flexibility to self-designate an appropriate number of tariff lines as “Special Products” (SPs) guided by indicators based on the criteria of food security, livelihood security and rural development. This is a special and differential treatment provision that allows developing countries some flexibility in the tariff cuts that they are required to make on these products.
Question - 16 : - Will The List Of Products To Be Designated As Sps Be Decided In The Negotiations?
Answer - 16 : -
No, Special Products will be self-designated, that is, once the modalities are finalised, the developing country Member will decide which of its products it wants to designate as SPs. Once this is decided, the list would be notified to the WTO as part of the Member's schedule of commitments under the Doha Round.
In India's case, the list of SPs would be decided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the Department of Commerce and other agencies concerned in consultation with State Governments.
Question - 17 : - Will Developed Countries Be Allowed To Shield Some Of Their Agricultural Products From Full Tariff Cuts?
Answer - 17 : -
Members (both developed and developing) may designate an appropriate number of tariff lines to be treated as sensitive, on which they would undertake lower tariff cuts. Even for these products, however, there has to be “substantial improvement” in market access, and so the smaller cuts would have to be offset by tariff rate quotas, thus improving the possibilities of market access. According to the draft modalities of 6 December 2008, developed countries can designate 4% of tariff lines as sensitive products; for members with more than 30% of their tariff lines in the top tariff band (75+band), a higher entitlement of 6% is proposed.
Developing countries can designate one-third more (5.3% or 8%) of products, as Sensitive Products. Almost 35% of India's agriculture tariff lines are in the top band of 130+ and therefore, the sensitive product entitlement would be 8%. In other words, India would have the flexibility to take lower cuts than would otherwise be required under the tariff reduction formula on 8% lines, using one of the options for developing countries that do not require provision of access through tariff quotas.
Question - 18 : - Would Developing Countries Also Be Required To Provide Tariff Rate Quota Access To Compensate For The Lower Cuts On Their Sensitive Products?
Answer - 18 : -
For developing countries the quota expansion is two-thirds of the amounts for developed countries, and domestic consumption does not include subsistence farmers' consumption of their own produce.
Instead of offering tariff rate quotas, developing country Members can take the full formula cuts on all their Sensitive Products but over an implementation period three years longer than normal
Question - 19 : - Did India Use The Special Safeguard Provisions Available In The Agreement On Agriculture? Will Developing Countries Have Recourse To Any Emergency Safeguard Measures In The Doha Round?
Answer - 19 : -
The AoA allowed Members to take special emergency actions (“special safeguards” by way of imposition of an additional tariff) in the case of products whose non-tariff restrictions were converted to tariffs, in order to prevent swiftly falling prices or surges in imports from hurting their farmers. The right to do so was reserved by 38 members and for a limited number of products in each case. India was not entitled to do so because it exercised the option of binding its tariffs instead of “tariffication” of quantitative restrictions (on account of balance of payments problems).
Question - 20 : - Will Members Continue To Have Recourse To The Special Safeguard (ssg) After The Doha Round?
Answer - 20 : -
In the Doha Round, the debate has been about whether to eliminate the SSG, or reduce the number of products for which it can be invoked and to constrain it. The G-20 has always maintained that this is a transitional instrument and should be eliminated at the earliest. The EC, Switzerland, Japan and Norway want the SSG to continue.
The Chair's 6 December 2008 text proposed that on the first day of implementation, developed country Members would reduce the number of lines eligible for the SSG to 1% of scheduled tariff lines and eliminate the SSG no later by the end of the seventh year of implementation.
For developing country Members the SSG coverage would be reduced to no more than 2.5% of tariff lines on the first day of implementation. For Small and Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) the SSG coverage shall be reduced to no more than 5 per cent of lines over 12 years.