The member countries of the World Trade Organization agreed to end agricultural export subsidies by 2023 during their latest ministerial talks in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday.

The Korean Trade Ministry said Sunday that the 162 WTO members reached a dramatic agreement on some key issues in the agricultural sector, including the sensitive farm subsidies. 

WTO director general Roberto Azevedo in a statement welcomed the agreement, calling it the “most significant outcome on agriculture” in the organization’s 20-year history.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman also hailed the decision as a deal to “help level the playing the field for American farmers and ranchers.”

Seoul officials said the agreement to abolish farm subsidies is part of the WTO’s ongoing efforts to increase cross-border commerce.

But the organization stopped short of making impressive progress on the long-drawn Doha Round of negotiations to lower trade barriers, according to the officials.

Under the agreement, all leading industrialized economies must stop farm export practices and subsidies immediately, while emerging economies must do so by the end of 2018. Emerging economies, in addition, must desist from giving various logistics support that can give their farm products an edge in the export market.

Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, does not provide direct export subsidies for its farm products, but it does give some 30 billion won ($25.3 million) a year for logistics and shipment-related support for agricultural goods.

“In accordance with the latest WTO pact, this kind of support will be halted after 2023,” the Trade Ministry said.

It said while support must be halted, Seoul did get an eight-year grace period to prepare for the change.

In addition, the latest agreement calls for the repayment period on credit given to prop up farm exports not to exceed 18 months and that measures must be taken to end the monopoly of export-oriented state-run enterprises. It, moreover, called for revisions to rules governing food aid.

Despite such progress, the WTO failed to find a major breakthrough on market access in the farming sector, domestic subsidies, nonagricultural market access and services, as well as trade-related standards.

By Chung Joo-won, news reports

(joowonc@heraldcorp.com)