On December 2005, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries released a summary of the agricultural sector-related outcomes of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, held in Hong Kong from 13 to 18 ,December 2005. A Ministerial Declaration was adopted by the 149 member countries that participated in the conference.

Measures agreed to at the conference included the following:
1. All forms of agricultural export subsidies are to be abolished, and tariffs are to be reduced gradually, by 2013.
2. For cotton in particular, export subsidies in developed countries are to be abolished during 2006.
3. All agricultural products from all least-developed countries (LDC), including those in Asia and Africa, will be given with duty-free and quota-free access to markets by 2008 or, at the latest, by the time when the abolishment of export subsidies starts (yet to be decided).

http://www.maff.go.jp/eindex.html

Posted: 2006/05/07 12:36:12 AM
Japanese version

TAG Government , System/Law