Bali Package Gives Concession to Agricultural Subsidies
TEMPO.CO, Denpasar - The ninth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference concluded yesterday by producing the Bali Package. The package consists of three main points: Trade Facilitation, Agriculture and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
“After quite lengthy negotiations, we, the ministers from the WTO, have agreed to grant flexibility to developing countries to implement food security programs,” said the Indonesian Trade Minister, Gita Wirjawan, who also acted as chairman, on Sunday, December 8, 2013.
The conference was supposed to conclude on Friday, December 6, 2013. However, many ongoing discussions forced negotiations to continue until Saturday. Fortunately, all delegations from 160 countries (including Yemen) have finally succeeded in making history—WTO negotiations have been put to a halt for 12 years, to finalize the Doha Round. The approved Bali package covers ten discussion topics: trade facilitation, general services for farmers, public stockholding for food security, Tariff Rate Quota for agricultural products, export competition, cotton trading, determination of origin of goods, special treatment for service providers from developing countries, Duty-Free and Quota-Free (DFQF) for developing countries, and the mechanism of monitoring Special and Differential Treatment for developing countries. PINGIT ARIA
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