Perspectives on the current WTO agriculture negotiations on export restrictions

This working paper provides insights into the current debates on export restrictions in the World Trade Organization agriculture negotiations. An overview of the previous discussions on export restrictions is presented in an effort to draw similarities between the previous discussions and the current discussions. The paper also offers some observations on the possibility of an outcome on export restrictions in the next WTO Ministerial Meeting. Last, it looks at the implications of the draft General Council decision, which would constitute an outcome on export restrictions in the next WTO Ministerial meeting. While the focus of the WTO discussions on export restrictions covers both agricultural and non-agricultural export restrictions, this paper has a particular bias towards the agricultural export restrictions.