The 135-member World Trade Organization has announced that it will start global negotiations on trade in agriculture beginning March 20. There is yet to be agreement on the negotiating format, scope of discussions and time frame. But we do know the talks will take years -- and that they will be very contentious.
Make no mistake. The proposed round of world trade negotiations is different from the past seven rounds. The name of the game this time is rights, and Japan finally has the potential to show its stuff as a world leader -- if it wants to.
Agriculture was a key element of discussions at the ministerial meetings in Seattle late last year, and it will be a substantial part of the next round. Many will say: "Agriculture, big deal." But agriculture is extraordinarily important as a barometer of world sentiment about life and well-being on our planet. It has gradually become a major sticking point in trade negotiations, especially in the last one, known as the Uruguay Round. Now, suddenly, concepts of a country's rights, and of human rights in general, have gradually become recognized as possible legitimate trade issues, making agriculture, curiously, a centerpiece on the negotiating table.