Members review farm policies in first meeting under new Chair

Members respond to questions during peer review process

A total of 220 questions were raised by members concerning individual notifications as well as broader agricultural policy developments or specific implementation matters (SIMs). This peer review process allows members to address issues related to the implementation of commitments under the Agreement on Agriculture.

For the meeting, 55 questions on 48 SIMs were raised for review. Among these were 21 new items, primarily covering domestic support programmes as well as tariff and other non-tariff and regulatory measures affecting agricultural market access in several members, including Argentina, Canada, the European Union Indonesia, Panama, Paraguay, Thailand, the Philippines and the United States.

Questions covered new topics including US beef imports and the US Financial Assurance to Revitalize Markets (FARM) programme; the Philippines' swine repopulation programme; Paraguay's farm credit support and climatic insurance programmes; Indonesia's pre-shipment inspections for halal products; Panama's milk and dairy import quotas; and the EU's Food and Feed Safety Omnibus, among others.

The Chair welcomed that many members had provided written responses to the many questions in advance of the meeting using the Committee's digital platform, which allowed for deeper exchanges during the meeting. He also invited members to respond to the questions verbally from the floor, including those already addressed via the digital platform, leading to substantive replies and rebuttals on many of the issues.

The Chair also urged delegations to submit timely and complete notifications, stressing the critical importance of enhanced transparency as requested by members. In the same vein, the Chair urged members to submit timely replies to the questions they receive in the Committee, noting that several remained outstanding.