Information session on Trade Policy Briefs: FAO support to the WTO negotiations at the 14th Ministerial Conference

Geneva – The FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, in collaboration with FAO’s Markets and Trade Division, organized a virtual information session. The information session presented the recently published seven FAO trade policy briefs prepared ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC14) to support FAO members in their negotiating efforts in global trade.  

The trade policy briefs draw on FAO's extensive analytical work on markets, trade, and food security, and offers a concise and accessible overviews of selected trade policy questions, featuring key trends, policy trade-offs and available evidence. The topics of the policy briefs covered the areas of agriculture and fisheries, where trade policy discussions are increasingly linked to broader questions of market stability, food security, nutrition, livelihoods, and the resilience and sustainability of agrifood systems.

Opening the information session 

Dominique Burgeon, Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, moderated the event, and in his welcoming remarks he highlighted that the dialogue series facilitate FAO’s work on trade and agrifood systems by sharing information on relevant and timely topics in the area of trade, agriculture, fisheries, food security and agrifood systems; and by promoting FAO’s analytical work in support of the formulation of trade policies that are conducive to improved food security.

In his introductory remarks, Boubaker Ben-Belhassen, Director of the FAO's Markets and Trade Division, emphasized that sustained progress depends on strong partnerships, reiterating FAO's commitment to work closely with the WTO, other international organizations, and all stakeholders to strengthen the contribution of trade to food security, nutrition, and sustainable agrifood systems.  

Presentation of trade policy briefs by FAO experts 

Marcio Castro De Souza, Senior Fishery Officer, presented the trade policy briefs on fisheries and aquaculture which highlighted the importance of international trade for fisheries and aquaculture products and the role of FAO in the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Abdi Ali, Economist, provided an overview of the trade policy brief on medium-terms prospects for global agricultural commodity markets. Emiliano Magrini, Economist, talked about the impact of the developments associated with shipping costs on the food import bill. Cosimo Avesani, Trade Policy Analyst, presented the trade policy brief focusing on leveraging the environment-related provisions linked to agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors in regional trade agreements to strengthen environmental governance. Edona Dervisholli, Economist, provided an overview of the trade policy brief assessing the relationship between trade policies and nutritional outcomes. Iryna Kobuta, Economist, presented the trade policy brief on advancing women's participation in agrifood trade. 

Concluding the session, Salamat Ali, Senior Economist, highlighted the multidimensional nature of today's trade policy challenges and underscored that international cooperation remains indispensable to address these challenges. 

WTO negotiations at the 14th Ministerial Conference 

The Fourteenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC14) will take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 26 March to 29 March 2026.  The Ministerial Conference is the Organization's top-decision making body bringing together Ministers and senior level officials to address key topics on the agenda of the Organization as well as to provide political guidance of the future work.