Title: Export Competition Disciplines in the Doha Round
Published in: Trade Issues
Author/s: Young, Linda
Year: 2005
Number: TPI 3
Summary:
The Doha Round Ministerial Decision called for “Reduction of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies.” The Export Competition Pillar of the agricultural negotiations includes direct export subsidies, export credits, state trading enterprises and food aid. The July framework gives further instruction that disciplines should ensure the parallel elimination of all export subsides with equivalent effect by a credible end date. The July Framework states that all direct export subsidies will be eliminated, so that the task remaining is to decide on the time frame and other details of the transition period. The elimination of export subsidies would be a significant achievement. While greater gains are expected to accrue from reform of domestic subsidies and improvements in market access, export subsidies have long been condemned as greatly distorting to world markets and detrimental to competitive exporters and import competing producers.