The Agricultural Negotiations as Part of the Doha Development Agenda - Progress or Stagnation?

Negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) have been ongoing since2001, and progress has been slow most of the time. In July 2007 the chairman of theagricultural negotiating group, Crawford Falconer, presented draft modalities foragriculture (WTO, 2007) which document considerable progress compared to earlierstages of the negotiations. Whether these draft modalities will turn out to mark thefoundations for a successful conclusion of the DDA in the future remains open. At thevery least, none of the major players in the World Trade Organization (WTO)negotiations has rejected the Falconer proposal in general, indeed, many consider it tobe a solid basis for further negotiations...