Committees

Like in the real WTO, the participants of the oikos Model WTO will negotiate in separate committees before finally meeting with all other participants to vote on the final declaration. Because of the complexity of international trade, the delegates of the Model WTO have to specialize in one committee.

 

When applying for the oikos Model WTO you will as well take a decision on your specialisation as delegate attached to one of this year's committees.

 The 2009 committees  and topics are the following:

 

• AGRICULTURE:

Issue 1, Agricultural subsidies: Some countries are still adamant about protecting their agricultutal sector. Especially rich industrialized countries support their farmers to stay competitive. Discussion about if and how tariff and subsidies reduction will ease poverty. Developing countries need to have access to markets hence the necessity of realistic, undistorted prices.

Issue 2, Net food importing countries: Some countries, mostly in North Africa and the Middle East, but also some of the very poorest, depend largely on food imports. They suffer from the reduction of subsidies in other countries because it raises food prices. Furthermore, some states need assistence in developing their own food production.

Issue 3, Ethanol: Is the trend for ethanol endangering  food supplies in poor countries by weighing on global agricultural prices. (this issue might not be part of the Model WTO 2009)

 

• TRIPS:

Issue 1, Patenting medicine: Reducing poverty or at least mitigating one of its worst effects, the lack of health care, could be achieved by granting poor countries access to costly patented medicines. The circumstances under which the beneficiaries of these patents (the developed countries) would be ready to grant access will have to be discussed.

Issue 2, Patenting plants: Do countries have the right to exclude plant and animal varieties from patenting, especially those that can be used for food production.

 

• NAMA:

Issue 1, Employment effect: Wealthy developed states protect their markets also in the realm of non-agricultural products, usually by means of  import taxes .The consequence of this trade distortion is unemployment and much less than potential output in poor countries.<//font><//font>

Issue 2, Aid for trade: Continuation and conditions/specifications of the 2005 “aid for trade” initiative.

 

• SPS, Committee on sanitary and phytosanitary measures:

Issue 1, Developed countries' health safety rules: Surely countries need to take some measures to keep imported food safe for consumption, but are developed countries using the weapon of “health safety rules” to create virtual trade barriers against products from developing countries? Where is the border between protection and protectionism?

Issue 2, Biotechnology/ genetically modified organisms: Should poor countries welcome GM crops as a way to overcome malnutrition and production shortages or is it a vicious way of imposing a questionable technology? Both GMO for human consumption and for feeding cattle should be discussed.

 

• TRADE & DEVELOPMENT:

Issue 1, Special and differential treatment (SDT): the essential committee for developing and least developed countries. Reforms of SDT can potentially reduce poverty.

 

Learn more about the negotiations in the committees!