Implementation of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and developments for the next round of negotiations

The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture has fundamentally changed the rules for international agricultural trade, and established quantitative constraints for agricultural policies of all WTO members. Although countries have tried to escape the new disciplines here and there, overall there has been substantial compliance, and implementation of the Agreement has proceeded smoothly. The next round of WTO negotiations on agriculture, to be launched in 1999, will have to clarify and strengthen some of the rules agreed during the Uruguay Round, but should mainly be devoted to negotiating further significant reductions. In addition, other issues that have emerged as contentious in the area of agricultural trade, and that will affect the next Round, will be discussed.