Cairns Group Farm Leaders Reaffirm the Importance of The Open, Fair and Rules-Based Trade of Agricultural Goods to Food Security During The COVID-19 Pandemic

by | Jun 5, 2020 | Trade In The News | 0 comments

Remove
3 June 2020

The Cairns Group Farm Leaders representing Australia, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand and Uruguay issued the following statement:

“Free, fair and open trade between nations under an international rules-based system is key to ensuring food security is not compromised in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cairns Group Farm Leaders strongly support the joint statement issued on the 31st of March by the heads of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) which calls on governments to minimise the impact of COVID-19 related border restrictions on trade in food.

The Cairns Group Farm Leaders also emphatically agrees with the recent joint statement from the Trade Ministers of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom, which calls for an acceleration of trade liberalisation and reform of the World Trade Organisation.

Maximising each nation’s comparative advantage and efficiently distributing food through agricultural trade is vital to ensuring that, while governments around the world are taking appropriate measures to limit the impact of COVID-19, there is also sufficient amounts of nutritious food available to meet the needs of all people.

It is also critical that during this time world leaders not only speak to the importance of trade to global food security, but also follow through with decisive actions that enhance the international rules-based trade of agricultural goods. By taking concrete actions and reducing trade distorting measures such as subsidies, tariffs and non-tariff measures, nations can bolster global food security not only throughout the COVID-19 pandemic but also into the future.

Stabilising global food markets and reallocating food from surplus to deficit regions through liberalised global trade is now more important than ever. Nations have worked hard over decades to reduce barriers to trade in food, and this global crisis demonstrates the need to continue reducing those barriers.

Cairns Group Farm Leaders are alarmed at reports of some nations making decisions to restrict the trade of food. Such decisions will risk harming the world’s poorest, which history has shown suffer the consequences of agricultural trade disruptions. We strongly encourage nations to resist pressure to suspend food exports and to maintain the integrity of international supply chains to ensure the efficient distribution of food.”

Key Links:

Joint statement by the heads of the FAO, WTO and WHO: www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/igo_26mar20_e.htm

Joint statement from the Trade Ministers of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom: www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/free-trade-essential-to-global-standards-of-living/news-story

About the Cairns Group:
cairnsgroup.org/Pages/Introduction.aspx

About the Cairns Group Farm Leaders:
www.cairnsgroupfarmers.org/about.html

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

REGISTER WITH TRADE WORKS

Register to stay up to date with latest news, as well as saving and discussing articles you’re interested in.

 

Remove

 

Latest News

LAMENTATION DAY

When President Trump spoke in the White House Rose Garden to launch his wrecking-ball “fair and reciprocal tariffs”, there were some in the audience wearing hard hats.  While this was doubtless to show support for the move amongst hard-working Americans, maybe...

BUSINESS FORUM WELCOMES INDIA FTA NEGOTIATIONS

Media release, 17 March 2025 The NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) welcomes the launch of free trade negotiations with India, announced in Delhi, and is particularly pleased that these will proceed on a comprehensive basis. “There is enormous value to be gained...

Playing the long trade game with India

Prime Minister Luxon is at last making his visit to India with a large business and community delegation.  We wish them well in expanding and deepening the relationship with India.  The reasons for doing so we have explained previously. Our Government’s...

SUBMISSION TO THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

PROPOSED GREEN ECONOMY JOINT WORKING GROUP WITH CHILE AND SINGAPORE MARCH 2025 Introduction This submission is made on behalf of the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF), whose members are listed at Annex A[1]. NZIBF is a forum of senior business leaders...