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Other than the above-discussed highly controversial boxes of agricultural subsidies, the WTO provisions have defined yet another box, i.e., the Social and Development Box (S & D Box)75 allows the developing countries for some subsidies to the agriculture sector under certain conditions. These conditions revolve around human development issues such as poverty, minimum social welfare, health support, etc., specially for the segment of population living below the poverty line. Developing countries can forward such subsidies to the extent of less than 5 per cent of their total agricultural output.76
For export subsidy the WTO has provisions in two categories:
(i) Reduction in the total budgetary support on export subsidies, and
(ii) Reduction in the total quantity of exports covered by the subsidy.
Higher reduction commitment for the developed countries and lower for the developing countries are the provisions. But the developed nations forward such an inflated support to their agricultural exports that even after the committed reductions it will be highly price distorting against the agri- exports of the developing countries. It is therefore opposed by the developing countries.
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
The provisions of the WTO allow member countries to set their own health and safety standards provided they are justified on scientific grounds and do not result in arbitrary or unjustified barrier to trade. The provisions encourage use of international standards and also include certain special and differential treatment in favour of developing countries.77
Though this provision has realised the scope of unjustified kind of health
and phytosanitory measures on the developing countries, the developed nations have been beautifully able to do so by validating their health and related rules on scientific grounds. Such instances have distorted trade in favour of these countries and the developing countries’ agriculture has been the real loser. The developing countries accuse such measures as the non- tarrif barriers used by the developed nations to block goods from the developing nations.