STATUS OF AGRICULTURE NOTIFICATIONS

REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF
THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

1  INTRODUCTION

1.1.  This report has been prepared by the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture (CoA), Mr. Diego Alfieri of Brazil, with the assistance of the Secretariat, at the request[1] of the Chairperson of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG). [2]

1.2.  At its meeting on 9 April 2025, the CTG considered the Secretariat report on the status of Members' regular, periodic and one-time-only notifications in the goods area (_G/C/W/859). As a follow-up to the discussions on the Secretariat report, on 15 April 2025, the CTG Chair wrote to subsidiary bodies requesting their Chairs to: i) discuss the additional steps that could be taken to improve the regular/periodic and one-time only notification requirements they oversee; ii) identify the steps needed to improve the quality and timeliness of notifications; and iii) inform the Council of past actions that have worked well in improving the number of submitted notifications. Subsidiary bodies were invited to report back to the CTG by no later than Monday, 10 November 2025.

2  CENTRALITY OF NOTIFICATIONS IN THE WORK OF THE COA

2.1.  The CoA is mandated to review progress in the implementation of Members' commitments under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). Notifications form the primary basis of the Committee's review process. The timeliness and quality of Members' notifications are therefore central to enabling the Committee to monitor the implementation of commitments undertaken under the AoA. In its decision[3] adopted on 6 June 1995, the Committee established detailed notification requirements and formats in five areas: market access, domestic support, export competition, export restrictions, and the follow-up to the Marrakesh Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries. In view of the centrality of notifications to the work of the Committee, Members' compliance with agricultural notification requirements is reviewed at each of its meetings under a standing agenda item. The Committee's deliberations under this agenda item are supported by a detailed Secretariat background document.[4]

3  EFFORTS TO IMPROVE QUALITY AND TIMELINEESS OF NOTIFICATIONS

3.1.  In addition to the regular discussions on Members' notification compliance and overdue notifications under a standing agenda item, targeted discussions have been organized in the Committee to improve the quality and timelines of notifications, and thereby the efficiency and effectiveness of the Committee's review process. In the early years after the entry into force of the AoA in 1995, Members engaged in detailed discussions on notifications-related issues based on specific suggestions covering different notification requirements, including through written contributions. The exercise culminated in a set of practical suggestions approved by the Committee in September 1999.[5]

3.2.  The Committee undertook a detailed work programme during 2009-2011 to improve the timeliness and completeness of agriculture notifications, in response to a communication[6] by the Chairman of the General Council to the Chairs of all WTO Councils and Committees requesting them to examine ways to improve transparency and notification compliance in their respective bodies. In the ensuing discussions under this work programme in the CoA, a survey was conducted to allow Members to describe the challenges faced in the notification process and raise relevant concerns. A number of actions were taken by the Committee, including the streamlining of documents and discussions on notification best practices.[7] The Secretariat also implemented actions[8] pursuant to the work programme, notably the launch of the online agriculture notification system in October 2019 accessible at: https://agims.wto.org/. The online system enables digital submission of notifications pursuant to the agreed formats in _G/AG/2, allows for voluntary transparency practices and additional information provided by Members, includes automatic access to Members' Scheduled Commitments sourced from the CTS, provides in-built calculation features for domestic support and market access notifications, and facilitates consistency and comparability of Members' notifications through enhanced harmonization of their notification practices.

4  RECENT DISCUSSIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS

4.1.  In recent years, Members have made serious efforts to bring their notifications up to date, including by submitting notifications covering multiple reporting years to clear outstanding submissions. The CTG report in document _G/C/W/859 also shows that Members' submission rate for annual agricultural notifications stands out and remains above average compared to the rate of submission for notifications in other goods areas. At the same time, Members acknowledge that a significant proportion of domestic support and export subsidy notifications remain outstanding.[9] Members have been deliberating in the Committee on how the situation regarding outstanding notifications, particularly in these two areas concerning agricultural subsidization, could be improved, including through support and technical assistance to the concerned Members. To improve the quality and timeliness of notifications, Members also consider it useful to identify more specifically the problems they face in preparing notifications, especially the DS:1 notifications, which invariably require domestic collaboration with several relevant ministries and agencies.

4.2.  In view of the significantly high number of outstanding annual export subsidy (Table ES:1) notifications, and considering that most of those notifications were expected to be Nil statements, a trend likely to strengthen further with the new obligations stemming from the Nairobi Decision on export competition, the Committee, at its November 2022 meeting, adopted a streamlined procedure allowing Members to fulfil their outstanding ES:1 notification obligations through a simplified process by making an oral announcement at Committee meetings when no export subsidies had been provided.[10] These oral "nil" statements serve as a simplified, alternative means for fulfilling outstanding Table ES:1 notification obligations, complementing the formal submission of notifications via the Central Registry of Notifications (CRN) or the online notification system under the AGIMS. This approach has proven highly effective in reducing notification backlogs and improving transparency in this area. Since its adoption, outstanding Table ES:1 notifications for nearly 200 reporting years have been cleared through this mechanism. Owing to its success, the practice of fulfilling outstanding notifications via oral announcements to the Committee has been replicated in subsequent decisions adopted by the Committee.[11]

4.3.  Under the third triennial review of Nairobi Decision[12] on Export Competition in 2024, the Committee adopted, on 16 December 2024, an integrated and comprehensive export competition notification requirement in a new Table EC:1, which constitutes the foundation for monitoring the implementation of Members obligations regarding export subsidies, including pursuant to the Nairobi Decision.[13] As per this decision, Members are required, starting with implementation year 2025, to submit a Table EC:1 annual export competition notification, which consolidates and simplifies the existing export competition-related notification and transparency requirements (Table ES:1 to ES:3, and a part of the NF:1 notification), and integrates the Export Competition Questionnaire (ECQ) annexed to the Nairobi Decision into a unified export competition notification, thereby enhancing coherence and reducing duplication.

4.4.  Similarly, as a follow-up to the 2013 Bali TRQ Decision[14], and pursuant to the agreement[15] among Members under the first triennial review of the operation of the Bali Decision, the Committee adopted a Decision on 25 March 2025 to enhance the transparency of tariff quota administration. This decision, contained in document _G/AG/2/Add.3, modifies the 1995 MA:1 notification format and requires Members to notify information on tariff quota application and licensing procedures to support the effective review and monitoring of the implementation of the Bali TRQ Decision. It was the second Decision adopted by the Committee in quick succession, following its 16 December 2024 Decision on new export competition notification requirements and format as described above. Both decisions of the Committee, respectively in _G/AG/2/Add.2 and _G/AG/2/Add.3, aim to streamline the Committee's notification and data reporting requirements and align them with obligations arising from ministerial decisions.

5  CONCLUSIONS

5.1.  The timeliness and completeness of Members' notifications has consistently formed a central part of the Committee's discussions, both at its formal and informal meetings. Members' deliberations cover annual or regular notification obligations, as well as ad hoc notifications that become due following specific actions by Members. Improving the quality and content of agricultural notifications has also been part of the Committee's ongoing discussions aimed at enhancing transparency, the effectiveness of the review process, and the overall functioning of the Committee. Members' exchanges reflect their willingness and determination to address existing gaps in notification compliance and, in doing so, to further strengthen the effectiveness of the Committee's review process conducted under Article 18 of the AoA. The Committee remains ready to provide additional updates to the CTG to support its deliberations on the status of notifications in the goods area, including through its annual reports to the Council.

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