Agriculture in the Bali Agreement: A Way Forward (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Nov. 13, 2014 |
| Report Number |
IN10163 |
| Report Type |
Insight |
| Authors |
Schnepf, Randall Dean, 1954- |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
At the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia, December 3-7, 2013, ministers adopted the so-called Bali Package. The package has measures dealing with four principal categories: Trade Facilitation, Agriculture, Cotton, and Development and Least-Developed Country (LDC) Issues. From the United States' viewpoint, the major policy initiative is the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which aims to improve the efficiency of international trade by harmonizing and streamlining customs procedures such as duplicative documentation requirements, customs processing delays, and nontransparent or unequally enforced importation rules and requirements. The Bali Package covers only a small fraction of the Doha Round mandate and leaves the more difficult trade topics for future negotiations; however, it represents the first multilateral trade deal in nearly two decades. At the time, analysts predicted that a successful Bali Package--boosted primarily by substantial efficiencies in trade facilitation--could increase global gross domestic product by $1 trillion. However, many hope that its ultimate benefit will be a rejuvenation of the Doha Round.
