THE IICA IN THE WTO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

WORK PLAN XV:

MArch TO DECEMBER 2025

Submission by the IICA

The following submission, dated 11 March 2025, is being circulated at the request of the Inter‑American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

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1  BACKGROUND

1.1.  In March 2010, the Committee on Agriculture of the World Trade Organization (WTO) granted the IICA ad hoc observer status in its regular meetings. Since June 2012, the IICA has been operating a WTO Reference Centre, which provides technical advisory services in connection with areas related to agricultural trade to individuals from government and business sectors and academia who are interested in improving their technical capacities in these areas.

1.2.  A number of joint technical cooperation activities have been conducted within the framework of the existing alliance between the IICA and the WTO on agricultural matters of particular interest to the two institutions and their member countries. It should also be noted that the IICA has had ad hoc observer status to the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures since 1999.

1.3.  In this context, the IICA submitted 14 annual joint work plans between 2010 and 2024 (documents G/AG/GEN/92, G/AG/GEN/95, G/AG/GEN/105, G/AG/GEN/115, G/AG/GEN/125, G/AG/GEN/132, G/AG/GEN/139, G/AG/GEN/145, G/AG/GEN/150, G/AG/GEN/158, G/AG/GEN/185, G/AG/GEN/200, G/AG/GEN/220 and G/AG/GEN/233).

1.4.  As part of the IICA's ongoing commitment, a 15th joint work plan has been drafted and will be presented to WTO Members at the regular meeting of the Committee on Agriculture to be held on 24 and 25 March 2025.

2  ACTIVITIES TO BE DEVELOPED IN RELATION TO THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

2.1.  The following activities are under consideration:

a._    Participation in and attendance at meetings of the Committee on Agriculture: The IICA, as an observer organization, undertakes to participate in-person or virtually in the regular meetings of this Committee held at the WTO and in those addressing matters of concern to IICA member States. Following these meetings, the IICA will systematize key information for national and regional bodies linked to agricultural trade, as well as for the business sector and academia of its member States.

b._    Support for technical cooperation activities related to agricultural trade: The IICA will support technical cooperation activities at the hemispheric, regional and national levels geared towards ministries of agriculture, relevant agricultural trade bodies, and ministerial entities. Some of this support is designed to enhance the impact of the IICA and its partnership with the WTO in the development of these activities. From 7 to 10 April, it will be providing technical support to a national workshop on agriculture in Asunción, Paraguay, led by the WTO.

c._    Monitoring areas of common interest: The IICA will monitor the progress of the agricultural trade negotiations at the WTO and will prepare technically to respond to the requests of its member States in the area of agricultural trade policy and to develop possible training programmes in areas of common interest with other technical partners. The IICA will, in turn, make its technical staff available to the WTO should it require support in respect of requests for technical advice and training (primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean) related to matters such as bioeconomy and innovation; family farming and territorial development; food quality and safety; climate change and agricultural resilience; and gender and youth.

In this connection, the IICA is organizing the second in-person meeting between agricultural negotiators in Geneva and the trade and/or agriculture ministries of Latin American countries, with a view to further defining positions regarding agricultural trade negotiations.

d._    Compliance by countries with agricultural notification requirements: In document G/AG/GEN/86/Rev.55 of March 2025, the Committee has identified countries that are behind in the submission of agricultural notifications. In this respect, the IICA will continue to support the WTO's initiatives to undertake activities, including national and/or regional workshops and other training events, that are geared towards Latin American and Caribbean countries to help them to better fulfil their transparency commitments and ensure they are up to date with those commitments. Similarly, it will support and channel national and regional initiatives that require WTO technical cooperation.

e._    Preparation of technical documents: Given the IICA's extensive and proven experience in this area, it will assist the WTO Secretariat with such activities at the Committee's request.

The IICA will continue to disseminate in countries in the Americas the IICA-WTO joint publication entitled "Delegates' Handbook on Participation in the WTO Committee on Agriculture[1]", which was drafted with a view to improving member countries' participation in meetings of the Committee.

3  TRADE AND AGRICULTURAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITHIN THE INSTITUTE

3.1.  The IICA's activities in the WTO will be conducted within the framework of the IICA's Directorate of Technical Cooperation, which will be responsible for implementing this work plan. The implementation of the plan will promote knowledge management and support the work carried out under the IICA's International Trade and Regional Integration Programme through its action lines on trade policy; market access; trade promotion and internationalization of businesses; coordination through technical cooperation services; and mobilization of relevant resources for inter-American agriculture, in accordance with the IICA's 2022-2026 Medium-term Plan.

3.2.  The IICA has an experienced network of experts in agriculture and international trade based at its central headquarters, at its offices in its member countries in the Americas, and at its Permanent Office for Europe in Spain.

3.3.  For further information, please contact:

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