The WTO Agreement on Agriculture

128 Pages·2017·1.28 MB·English

by  Mukesh Kumar

The WTO Agreement on Agriculture:
Free Trade Vis-a-Vis Food Security

A Dissertation Submitted
To
Sikkim University

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the
Degree of Master of Philosophy
By
Ajeet Kumar Pandey
Department of Law
School of Social Sciences

February 2017

Copyright by Ajeet Kumar Pandey (2017)
DECLARATION
Date: ...........................

I declare that the dissertation entitled “The WTO Agreement on Agriculture: Free
Trade Viz-a-Viz Food Security” submitted to Sikkim University for the award of the
degree of Masters of Philosophy in Law is my original work. This dissertation has
not been submitted for any other degree of this University or any other university.

Ajeet Kumar Pandey
M.Phil Scholar
Roll No.: 15MPLW01
Registration No.:13SU11931
Department of Law
Sikkim University
Tadong-737102

We recommend that this dissertation is placed before the examiners for evaluations.

Name of the Head of Department Name of the Supervisor

Prof. Imtiaz Gulam Ahmed Mr. Veer Mayank
Head Assistant Professor
Department of Law Department of Law
Sikkim University Sikkim University
CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “The WTO Agreement on
Agriculture: Free Trade Viz-a-Viz Food Security” submitted to the Sikkim
University in partial fulfilment for the requirement of the degree of Master of
Philosophy in Law is embodies the results of the research work carried out by
Mr. Ajeet Kumar Pandey under my guidance and supervision.

Supervisor:

Mr. Veer Mayank
Assistant Professor
Department of law
Sikkim University
Tadong- 737102

Place: _________________
Date: _________________
PLAGIARISM CHECK CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that plagiarism check has been carried out for the following
M.Phil dissertation with the help of Urkund software and the result is within
the permissible limit decided by the University.

The WTO Agreement on Agriculture:
Free Trade Viz-a-Viz Food Security

Submitted by Mr. Ajeet Kumar Pandey under the supervision of
Mr. Veer Mayank, Assistant Professor, Department of Law,
School of Social Sciences, Sikkim University,
Gangtok, Sikkim-737102, India

Signature of the Candidate

Countersigned by the Supervisor
AKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards my guide and
supervisor, Shri. Veer Mayank, Assistant Professor, Department of Law,
Sikkim University, Gangtok for his invaluable and incredible support and
supervision throughout my research. In fact, no words would suffice to
express my deep sense of gratefulness towards him, who has been a
source of stimulation as well as encouragement throughout my research
work without his kind support and cooperation the study would not have
been possible. He has been a source of constant motivator in my critical
situations.
I am grateful to Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Professor. Dr. T. B. Subba, and
Sikkim University for the opportunity and the facilities that was provided
at every step, has helped in numerous ways in the completion of my
Research Paper. I am thankful to the Head of Department of law Prof.
(Dr.) Imtiaz Gulm Ahmed and the faculty members of the Law
Department for their continued support and advice which was a continued
guidance for me in my dissertation
Along with, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude towards entire
faculty as well as non-faculty members (including library staffs) of the
Sikkim University for providing immense support and guidance which
they provided while researching for the materials related to my research
paper.
I would be failing in my duties if I do not thank the University Grants
Commission for providing me the scholarship for undertaking the
research work.
I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation towards my colleague
and friends Pooja Sharma, Rajeev Ranjan, and Vivek Yadav for the
fruitful, meaningful and an enjoyable time that we spent while preparing
for my research paper.
Lastly, I would also like to thank my father Mr. Harishankar Pandey and
mother, Mrs. Suganti Devi for their continues encouragement during the
preparation of my Research Work.

- Ajeet Kumar Pandey
Declaration
Certificate
Plagiarism Report
Acknowledgement
Content
Abbreviation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1-19
1.1 INTRODUCTION OF THE TOPIC 1-10
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 10-12
1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW 12-17
1.4 OBJECTIVE 17
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION 17-18
1.6 HYPOTHESIS 18
1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 18
1.8 CHAPTERIZATION 18-19
CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION
OF WORLD TRADE 20-31
2.1 GATT AND AGRICULTURE 20-24
2.2 CONFERENCES HELD ON GENERAL AGREEMENT
ON TARIFF AND TRADE 24
2.3 THE GATT NEGOTIATIONS ROUND 25-28
2.3.1 FIRST ROUND (GENEVA) 25
2.3.2 SECOND ROUND (ANNECY) 25
2.3.3 THIRD ROUND (TORQUAY) 26
2.3.4 FOURTH ROUND (GENEVA) 26
2.3.5 DILLON ROUND (GENEVA) 26
2.3.6 KENNEDY ROUND (GENEVA) 26
2.3.7 TOKYO ROUND 27
2.3.8 URUGUAY ROUND 28
2.4 THE URUGUAY ROUND NEGOTIATIONS 28-31
2.5 WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION – WTO (1995) 31
CHAPTER 3: WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
PROVISIONS RELATED TO AGRICULTURE 32-42
3.1 AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE (AOA) 32-33
3.1.1 MARKET ACCESS 33
3.1.2 DOMESTIC SUPPORT 34
3.1.3 EXPORT SUBSIDIES 34
3.1.4 SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT 35
3.2 BASIC AGREEMENT ON SANITARY AND
PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES (SPS MEASURES) 35-36
3.3 AGREEMENT WITH REGARD TO THE APPLICATION
OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 36-37
3.3.1 SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 37-38
3.3.2 SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY COMMITTEE 38-39
3.4 AGREEMENT WITH REGARD TO TECHNICAL
BARRIERS TO TRADE (TBT) 39-40
3.4.1 OBJECTIVE OF AGREEMENT ON TECHNICAL
BARRIERS TO TRADE 40
3.4.2 PURPOSE OF TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 40-41
3.4.3 STRUCTURE WITH REGARD TO TBT 41
3.4.4 FUNCTIONS OF TRADE COMMITTEE WITH
REGARD TO TBT 42
CHAPTER 4: AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE 43-68
4.1 INTRODUCTION TO AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE 43
4.2 POSITIVE FEATURES OF AGRIMENT ON AGRICULTURE 43
4.3 MAIN FLAWS AND IMBALANCES OF THE AGREEMENT 44-48
4.4 PILLARS OF AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE 49
4.4.1 MARKET ACCESS 49-57
4.4.2 DOMESTIC SUPPORT 57-65
4.4.3 EXPORT COMPETITION 65-68
CHAPTER 5: FOOD SECURITY AND FREE TRADE 69-86
5.1 FOOD SECURITY 69
5.1.1 WHAT IS FOOD SECURITY? 69-70
5.2 PILLARS OF FOOD SECURITY 70-75
5.3 ENTITLEMENT APPROACH TO FOOD SECURITY 75
5.3.1 PRODUCTION-BASED ENTITLEMENT 76
5.3.2 TRADE BASED ENTITLEMENT 77
5.4 HOW CAN FOOD SECURITY BE MEASURED 77-78
5.5 ROLE OF WTO WITH REGARD TO FOOD
SECURITY IN INDIA 78
5.6 ROLE OF TRIPS WITH REGARD TO FOOD
SECURITY IN INDIA 78-79
5.7 ROLE OF AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE WITH
REGARD TO FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA 79-81
5.8 FREE TRADE 81-82
5.8.1 ADVANTAGES WITH REGARD TO FREE TRADE 83-85
5.8.2 DISADVANTAGES WITH REGARD TO FREE TRADE 85-86
5.9 FOOD SECURITY AND FREE TRADE 86
CHAPTER 6: INDIAN CONTENT: AGRICULTURE
AND FOOD SECURITY 87-98
6.1 AGRICULTURE IN INDIA 87
6.1.1 BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE 87-88
6.1.2 SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE 89-90
6.2 IMPACT OF WTO ON INDIAN AGRICULTURE 90-91
6.3 FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA 92
6.3.1 FOOD INSECURITY 92
6.3.2 FACTORS INDICATING FOOD SECURITY 93
6.3.3 FOOD SECURITY CAN BE DIVIDED INTO
FOUR CATEGORIES 93-94
6.4 PROBLEMS RELATED TO FOOD SECURITY 94
6.5 AREAS OF FOOD INSECURITY 94-95
6.6 ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE FIELD OF
FOOD SECURITY 95
6.7 DISCUSSION ON FOOD SECURITY BILL 95-98
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS 99-110
7.1 CONCLUSION 99-107
7.2 RECOMMENDATION 108-110
BIBLIOGRAPHY 111-116