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INTRODUCTION
The Agreement on Agriculture (Ana) in the World Trade Organization (WTO)negotiated during the Uruguay Round prescribed disciplines on three pillars, namely, the Market Access, Domestic Support and Export Subsidies (WTO, 1994). In general terms, the commitments were designed to increase market access for agricultural products and to reduce domestic support and export subsidy expenditures. In the Doha Round negotiations on agriculture, which started in 2002, the fundamental structure of the Agreement was not challenged and Members took positions around its three pillars. The initial negotiating positions of Members could be broadly classified into three categories:
(I) The industrialized countries, such as the European Union (EU), Japan, Switzerland, Norway, etc., stressed the multifunctionality of agriculture—that agriculture is not only about trade but plays multifarious roles in maintenance of rural communities, which came to be known as the non-trade concerns in agriculture. This group was in favor of slow and gradual process of reforms in agriculture sector and therefore, articulated defensive interest in all three pillars. It enjoyed the support of many developing countries of the African, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) Group, which were dependent on the preferential schemes of access for their products mainly in the markets of EU.
(ii) The Cairns Group, ^ constituted by the more active demanders in the negotiations, which included the major exporters of agricultural products—both developed and developing countries. This group demanded aggressive liberalization in all three pillars. The United States, although provider of considerable domestic support, maintained an overall liberalizing posture in the negotiations by indicating its willingness to reduce its domestic support substantially provided that other subsidizers match its level of support and it got increased access for its products in all markets—both developed and developing. The United States was actively supporting the Cairns Group,
(iii) A group-* of developing countries, which do not have substantial export interest but for whom agriculture goes beyond an activity that is purely governed by market rules because it involves a high proportion of their population and where problems of poverty alleviation and food security/livelihood security are very serious. Since these countries could not match the domestic support given in some industrialized countries, they also demanded substantial reduction in domestic support and export subsidies pillars but were very conservative in undertaking tariff reductions under the market access pillar. This group supported the Cairns Group in demanding aggressive liberalization in the domestic support and export subsidies pillars. In market access, this group kept its options opens because it was willing to support the Cairns Group in demanding aggressive liberalization in developed country markets provided its defensive interests in their own markets were accommodated through the special and differential treatment for developing countries. Since the United States and a few members of the Cairns Groupware not inclined towards expanding special and difiierential provisions for developing countries, some developing countries from this group tilted towards the position on market access taken by the Friends of the Multifunctionalityof Agric本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。