GLOSSARY
amber box: domestic support
arrangements in agriculture linked to production support which
have to be reduced under the URAA (q.v.). The criteria for 'amber
box' status are set out in Annex 2 of the Agreement.
AMS: Aggregate Measure
of Support: total of each member's amber box measures which must
be reduced by 20% by 2000.
Article XX: provision
of the URAA (q.v).
blue box: domestic support
arrangements based on acreage and headage which limit production,
as defined in Article 6(5)(a) of the Agreement. Blue box measures
are not subject to the provisions on reducing support.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade:
GATT: institution with responsibility for overseeing international
negotiations promoting the liberalisation of global trade. GATT
was dissolved in 1992 and replaced by the WTO (q.v.), which was
itself established under GATT's provisions.
green box: domestic support
arrangements in agriculture having no significant effect on levels
of commodity consumption, production and trade, exempt from the
provisions on reducing support. The criteria for 'green box' status
are set out in Annex 2, paragraph 6 of the URAA.
precautionary principle:
originating in environmental agreements but now extended to food
safety and animal and plant health under the SPS agreement (q.v.)
and to trade in GMOs under the Montreal Protocol, the precautionary
principle states that lack of scientific evidence should not prevent
governments from taking precautions to protect public health and
the environment. See the Communication from the European Commission
on the precautionary principle (COM (2000)1) for further details
and references.
SPS Agreement: Agreement
on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. WTO agreement which sets
out rules on food safety and animal and plant health standards
in relation to trade.
TBT Agreement: Agreement
on Technical Barriers to Trade. WTO agreement which sets out rules
to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification
procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.
URA: Uruguay Round Agreement.
General trade agreement reached in 1994 which led to the establishment
of the WTO.
URAA: Uruguay Round Agreement
on Agriculture (also known as the AoA - Agreement on Agriculture).
The part of the URA relating to agriculture, it committed members
to a six-year (ten years for developing countries) programme for
cutting subsidies and protection for agriculture. Article XX provides
for further liberalisation talks at the end of the programme,
the so-called 'built-in agenda'.
World Trade Organisation:
WTO: institution with a variety of responsibilities, including
the enforcement of agreements seeking to reduce domestic barriers
to global trade negotiated under the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade.
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