WTO 「농업협정」의 평가와 전망- WTO 농산물교역 분쟁해결 경험을 중심으로 -

Upon concluding the “Bali Package” at the WTO 9th MinisterialConference, held in Bali of Indonesia in December 2013, this articleestimates and prospects the meanings and achievements of the WTO 「Agreement on Agriculture」(AoA), particularly through the agriculturaltrade dispute settlement cases. Since the adoption of the AoA, theagricultural trade dispute settlement cases have significantly increasedcompared with the past GATT, in both number and ratio. Through thesecases, the AoA, combined with the WTO 「Dispute SettlementUnderstanding」(DSU), has been estimated to contribute to theestablishment and development of a more market-oriented andrule-based agricultural trade system. As representative dispute settlement cases in the field of agriculturaltrade under the WTO multilateral trade system, Canada – Dairy, Chile –Price Band System, EC – Export Subsidies on Sugar, US – Upland Cotton,etc., particularly dealing with whether the domestic agricultural supportpolicies and programs, such as the farm price support system andagricultural subsidies, are consistent with the WTO obligations, haveoften been talked about on the implications of WTO agricultural trade litigation through the AoA and DSU for not only domestic agriculturalpolicies but also WTO agricultural trade negotiations. These disputesettlement cases have presented a direction in conflict resolution basedon rules and regulations, established a legal standard of domesticagricultural policies based on the WTO obligations, and provided a usefulguidance for agricultural negotiations based on the coordination of mutualinterests. In conclusion, the AoA has played an important role in propelling bothinternal reforms and external negotiations through diverse and richexperience of agricultural trade dispute settlement, which has resulted inthe progress of market-oriented and fair trade liberalization ofagricultural products. Based on this recognition, policy makers andnegotiators should effectively use the agricultural trade disputesettlement experience as a useful normative and political tool foragricultural policy reforms as well as negotiations.