The World Trade Organization (WTO), established on January 1, 1995, is the preeminent international organization governing trade between nations. Trade ministers from each of the 153 WTO member countries meet biennially to discuss how best to increase trade liberalization, as well as to negotiate other important issues affecting the global movement of goods and services.
Environmental- and animal-related issues have historically earned a high-profile status in WTO negotiations. For example, two of the most important trade disputes decided by the dispute-settlement mechanisms of the WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, concerned measures taken to protect dolphins from injurious tuna-fishing methods, and the protection of endangered sea turtles from deadly shrimp-fishing practices. As a result, HSI believes that the ongoing WTO negotiations present a unique opportunity for nations to address animal protection issues.
For many years HSI has been working to ensure that animal welfare and respect for the environment, natural habitats, and endangered species remain at the forefront of ongoing international trade negotiations at the WTO. In December 2005, HSI, along with its Central American affiliate Global Alliance for Humane Sustainable Development (Global Alliance), participated in the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong. HSI also participated in the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico in September 2003. At both the Cancun and Hong Kong ministerial conferences, HSI President Patricia Forkan was selected to represent TEPAC as a U.S. government adviser. In addition, HSI representatives also frequently submit comments to and testify before the U.S. Congress regarding ongoing WTO and free trade agreement negotiations.
The current round of WTO negotiations, officially called the Doha Round, has been labeled the “Development Round,” as WTO member countries have sought to achieve greater trade liberalization, while at the same time encouraging sustainable economic development in developing and least developed countries. HSI strongly believes that the Doha Round represents an unprecedented opportunity for the WTO to reshape itself by securing equitable access to the opportunities and benefits of international trade for all people, while at the same time protecting the environment and natural resources from further degradation.
Although many significant issues involving animal protection and humane sustainable agriculture are being discussed in the Doha Round, the most important issue facing WTO members is the reform of the agriculture sectors in developed countries, specifically the elimination of government subsidies given to agricultural producers in the United States and the European Union. HSI acknowledges that for any progress to be made toward a successful conclusion of the Doha Round, agricultural sector reform in developed countries must come first in order to help alleviate poverty in much of the developing world. This reform, however, cannot and must not be achieved at the expense of the welfare of farm animals in either developed or developing countries.
For this reason, HSI supports the acknowledgment that government payments to farmers or ranchers, which offset the costs of increasing animal welfare standards, qualify under the “Green Box” of permissible agricultural subsidies in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). HSI believes that these payments qualify under Green Box criteria because:
- Animal welfare payments are non-trade distorting, or at most minimally so;
- Studies demonstrate that mistreating or withholding adequate veterinary care from animals results in reduced economic output;
- Consumers have a vested interest in how animals are treated and have increasingly expressed a desire to purchase humanely produced chicken, beef, pork, dairy products and cage-free eggs;
- There is a need to improve animal welfare standards in light of livestock diseases, such as outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, and avian influenza (bird flu);
- By improving welfare standards for animals and the environment, farmers, ranchers, consumers, and civil society will all benefit.
For more information on our ongoing policy initiatives at the WTO please see the documents provided below:
Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference: To read our brochure regarding Humane Sustainable Agriculture presented at the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, December 2005, download the PDF. This document is also available in Spanish.
To read our position paper for the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference titled Humane, Sustainable, and Environmentally Friendly Development: Opportunities for Equitable Access to International Trade under the Doha Development Agenda, December 2005, download the PDF. This document is also available in Spanish.
To read the reaction of HSI President Patricia Forkan to the proposal put forth by the United States in the Doha Round WTO agriculture negotiations, October 2005.
Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference: To read our position paper for the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference, Humane, Sustainable, and Equitable Development and the Doha Development Agenda, September 2003, download the PDF. This document is also available in Spanish and Portuguese.
