At WTO conferences, usually a vast cloud of representatives from farmer organizations, civil society institutions and academics join in criticizing the current trade architecture. Most of them stand firm on the problems at hand, and share much of the critical analysis of the trade regime. However, there is not much convergence on possible solutions. “Agriculture out of the WTO” demand some, while others request “better market access” to the North and the realization of “real free trade” without rigged rules and double standards. By making this project a dialogue project, we want to contribute to bridging the gap between those diverging positions and to approach a common understanding about the future of the trade regime.

 

The dialogue process involves selected experts, representatives of a broad range of civil society organizations, as well as policy makers. The project started in 2005 as a dialogue within a core group of experts from different regions of the world, the so-called “Expert Panel“. These experts developed reform proposals to be recorded in a set of policy papers. In addition views from policy makers are fed into this dialogue through an “International Consultative Board”.

In 2006, a number of “Regional Consultations” were conducted to discuss and mirror preliminary policy proposals on the different realities around the world. A broad range of stakeholders throughout the farming community, civil society organizations, the media, and the scientific community, as well as political decision-makers and negotiators at the WTO participated in these consultations.

 

The “Reform Proposal” marks the outcome of the dialogue among the Expert Panel, the International Consultative Board, and within the Regional Consultations. In phase two of the project, between 2007-2009, a wide dissemination of the Reform Proposal and a series of further dialogues on its basis are foreseen to follow-up the discussions, and keep in motion the debate about alternatives to the current trade regime.