EXPORT SUBSIDIES, EXPORT CREDITS, EXPORT CREDIT GUARANTEES
OR INSURANCE PROGRAMMES, INTERNATIONAL FOOD AID AND
AGRICULTURAL EXPORTING STATE TRADING ENTERPRISES

Background document by the Secretariat[1]

Revision

1.   The Ministerial Declaration on Export Competition (document _WT/MIN(13)/40 - WT/L/915) adopted by Ministers on 7 December 2013 at the 9^th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali (the "Bali Declaration") states, inter alia, that:

"10. Accordingly, we commit to enhance transparency and to improve monitoring in relation to all forms of export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in order to support the reform process.

11. We therefore agree to hold dedicated discussions on an annual basis in the Committee on Agriculture to examine developments in the field of export competition. This examination process shall provide an opportunity for Members to raise any matter relevant to the export competition pillar, in furtherance of the final objective set out in the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.

12. This examination process shall be undertaken on the basis of timely notifications under the relevant provisions of the Agreement on Agriculture and related decisions, complemented by information compiled by the WTO Secretariat, consistent with the practice followed in 2013^[2], on the basis of Members' responses to a questionnaire, as illustrated in the Annex."

2.   Two annual dedicated discussions took place respectively on 5 June 2014 and 4 June 2015 at the regular meetings of the Committee on Agriculture.[3]

3.   These dedicated discussions were based on a background document by the Secretariat[4], which compiled information from Members' relevant notifications along with responses to an export competition questionnaire circulated by the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture.[5]

4.   The Ministerial Decision on Export Competition (document _WT/MIN(15)/45 - WT/L/980) adopted by Ministers on 19 December 2015 at the 10^th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi (the "Nairobi Decision") states, inter alia, that:

"4. The Committee on Agriculture shall monitor the implementation of this Decision by Members in accordance with existing notification requirements under the Agreement on Agriculture, as complemented by the provisions set out in the Annex to this Decision."

5.   The Annex to the Nairobi Decision states that, consistent with the Bali Declaration, Members shall continue to provide information on export subsidies, export credit, export credit guarantees or insurance programmes, international food aid and agricultural exporting state trading enterprises, within the context of an annual examination process based on the structure of the Annex.

6.   In addition, footnote 17 to the Decision states that "Notwithstanding paragraph 4 of this Decision, developing country Members, unless they are in a position to do so at an earlier date, shall implement this Annex no later than five years following the date of adoption of this Decision".

7.   Eight post-Nairobi annual dedicated discussions took place respectively on 7-8 June 2016, 7 June 2017, 11-12 June 2018, 25-26 June 2019, 22-23 September 2020, 23‑24 September 2021, 27-28 June 2022, and 27-28 June 2023 during the regular meetings of the Committee on Agriculture.[6]

8.   These dedicated discussions were based on background documents by the Secretariat[7], which compiled information from Members' relevant notifications along with responses to the export competition questionnaire (ECQ) circulated by the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture.[8]

9.   On 13 December 2023, the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture circulated the questionnaire, in accordance with the terms of the Annex of the Nairobi Decision, in preparation for the ninth post-Nairobi annual dedicated discussion referred to therein and scheduled to take place in September 2024.

10.   The present document and its four addenda update document _G/AG/W/125/Rev.19, with the addition of replies to the questionnaire, relevant information coming from Table ES:1 and ES:3 notifications, and notifications to the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises received by the Secretariat and circulated up to 16 August 2024[9].

11.   The following Members replied entirely or partially to the questionnaire circulated on 13 December 2023: Argentina; Australia; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; European Union; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; Israel; Japan; Korea, Republic of; Liechtenstein; Macao, China; New Zealand; Norway; Philippines; South Africa; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; Türkiye; Seychelles; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States; and Uruguay.

12.   On 21 March 2023, the WTO Secretariat announced the operationalization of the on-line submission tool for responses to the ECQ, under the ECQ- Information management system (ECQ‑IMS) module of the agriculture information management system (AG-IMS). While some Members have followed past practices in providing their response to the ECQ, several Members have started to use this new functionality, accessible through the "Export Competition" tab on the AG‑IMS webpage. The ECQ‑IMS on-line reporting module is also operational, with all previous responses made following the adoption of the Nairobi Decision now incorporated. Demonstration videos are available under the "user guide" tab.[10]