Does agricultural trade liberalization threaten food security and the goal of reducing rural poverty?
Again, views expressed differed in the extent to which trade liberalization should be seen as a threat or opportunity. Some delegates replied to this question suggesting that trade liberalization was not a threat, but rather an opportunity, for the following reasons: • Trade liberalization opens opportunities for countries. Reducing tariff peaks, tariff escalation, trade distorting support and export subsidies opens up trading opportunities between both developed and developing countries. In 2003 developing countries sold 46 percent of their exports to other developing country markets and therefore, developing countries would hurt each other by maintaining barriers to trade. • Even if there was a threat to food security from trade liberalization, the ongoing WTO negotiations would create provisions for Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) measures that should help to reduce any negative impacts to food security during the transition period. In this regard, possible recourse to sens
