Public
FTAA.ngag/com/20
August 16, 2002
Original: English-Spanish
Translation: non FTAA Secretariat
FTAA - NEGOTIATING GROUP ON AGRICULTURE
Twentieth Meeting
Panama, August 12-16, 2002
PRESS COMMUNIQUE
The Twentieth Meeting of the Negotiating Group on Agriculture (NGAG) took
place in Panama City, Panama from August 12-16, 2002. The following
delegations attended: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil,
Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, United States, Uruguay, and
Venezuela.
The NGAG agreed on the
Agenda, which is attached to this press
communiqué. All the items on the agenda were covered.
The work of the Group centered on: (1) preparing recommendations on: (i)
treatment to be adopted to prevent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)
measures from becoming unjustified obstacles to trade in the hemisphere;
(ii) mechanisms to facilitate the full implementation of the WTO Agreement
on the Application of SPS Measures in the FTAA; (iii) methods for making
concessions; (iv) the scope and methodology for the elimination of export
subsidies that affect trade in agricultural products in the hemisphere;
and (v) the types of measures and the methodology for the development of
disciplines to be adopted for the treatment of all other practices that
distort trade in agricultural products, including those that have an
effect equivalent to agricultural export subsidies; (2) preparing revised
versions of the different sections of the FTAA Chapter on Agriculture; and
(3) preparing the NGAG Report to the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC).
The Tripartite Committee (TPC) reported to the Group on the status of, and
inputs to, the Hemispheric Data Base (HDB), and distributed a new version
of the HDB-PC CD-ROM. The TPC also reported on technical workshops that
are being held on the Hemispheric Data Base System and the status of the
HDB user’s manual.
The Group informs that there were no additional civil society
contributions forwarded by the Committee of Government Representatives on
the Participation of Civil Society to the NGAG.
The Group’s next meeting will be held in Panama City from September 17-19,
2002.
FTAA – NEGOTIATING GROUP ON AGRICULTURE
Twentieth Meeting
Panama, August 12-16, 2002
AGENDA
MONDAY 12:
1) Recommendations to establish a process of notification and
counter-notification of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in order
to prevent these measures from becoming unjustified obstacles to
trade in the Hemisphere (Instruction 6)
2) Recommendations on developing mechanisms to facilitate the full
implementation of the WTO SPS Agreement in the Hemisphere
(Instruction 7)
3) Section V, Chapter on Agriculture: Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures
TUESDAY 13:
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
4) Methods for determining tariff concessions
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
5) Recommendations on the scope and methodology for eliminating
export subsidies affecting trade in agricultural products in the
Hemisphere (Instruction 2)
WEDNESDAY 14:
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
6) Recommendations on the types of measures and the methodology for
the development of disciplines to be adopted for the treatment of
all the other practices that distort trade in agricultural products,
including those which have an equivalent effect to agricultural
export subsidies (Instruction 3)
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
7) Report to the TNC
8) General Issues:
i. NGMA report of the last meeting
ii. Follow up of List of Tasks
iii. Notifications and counter-notifications of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary measures
iv. Identification of non-tariff measures
v. Contributions forwarded by the Committee of Government
Representatives on the Participation of Civil Society
THURSDAY 15:
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
9) Section I, Chapter on Agriculture: General Provisions
10) Section II, Chapter on Agriculture: Market Access
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
11) Section III, Chapter on Agriculture: Export Subsidies
12) Section IV, Chapter on Agriculture: Other practices that distort
trade of agricultural products, including those which have an
equivalent effect to agricultural export subsidies
13) Section VI, Chapter on Agriculture: Institutional Issues
FRIDAY 16:
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Continuation: Report to the TNC
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Continuation: Report to the TNC
14) Organization of the Tariff Negotiations.
15) Other Issues:
i. Hemispheric Data Base
ii. Summary Report from the 20th meeting
iii. Agenda for the 21st meeting
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