Workshop on WTO Negotiations and Nigeria: Negotiation Options in Agriculture, Non-Agricultural Products, Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism
9th – 10th October 2007 • Co-organised with Ibadan International Lawyers and Economists against Poverty (ILEAP); Trade Policy Research and Training Programme (TPRTP); Federal Ministry of Commerce and industry of Nigeria
The Doha Development Round of negotiations which were launched in 2001 is advancing towards the critical stage of reaching consensus on many of the issues in the agenda. In particular, proposals have been submitted and debated by various negotiating groups in the different areas such as agriculture and non-agricultural products and services. In agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations in particular, issues which relate to tariff and non-tariff barriers are in their various stages of finalisation. Before the suspension of negotiations in June 2006, the negotiations in agriculture and NAMA moved towards agreement on tariff reduction modalities, including the coefficients to be applied by developing and developed countries in the adopted simple Swiss formula while the ways to treat countries based on their level of development have been agreed, such as special products and special safeguard mechanisms, sensitive products, among others.