The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created as part of the Uruguay Round outcome, making global trade rules more formal and enforceable. Agriculture became governed by a dedicated Agreement on Agriculture, bringing farm subsidies and trade barriers into the multilateral system in a more detailed way.
WTO members launched the Doha Development Agenda (Doha Round) with promises to address development concerns in trade rules. Agriculture quickly became one of the most difficult areas, especially disputes over subsidies, market access, and special treatment for developing countries.
Cotton became a high-profile development issue at the WTO after West African cotton exporters pressed for action on subsidies and trade barriers that affected world prices. The issue linked farm trade rules to poverty and livelihoods in least-developed countries (LDCs).
At the Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali, WTO members adopted an interim approach for public stockholding for food security in developing countries. This “peace clause” aimed to prevent legal challenges while members worked toward a permanent solution.
After renewed deadlock in 2014, the WTO General Council adopted a decision to keep the Bali approach on public stockholding moving forward. This helped preserve a negotiated “pause” on disputes while members continued work toward a lasting agreement.
WTO members agreed that the Tenth Ministerial Conference (MC10) would be held in Nairobi, Kenya. Holding MC10 in Africa increased attention on issues important to LDCs, including agriculture and cotton.
MC10 opened in Nairobi and ran from 15 to 19 December 2015. The meeting set up final negotiations that produced the “Nairobi Package,” including key decisions on agriculture and cotton.
Ministers adopted the Decision on Export Competition, committing members to eliminate agricultural export subsidy entitlements and to tighten rules on similar export support tools. The decision set different timelines for developed and developing members, marking a major change in how agricultural export support would be disciplined.
Ministers adopted a decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes, reaffirming earlier WTO decisions and committing members to negotiate a permanent solution. The decision directed negotiations into dedicated sessions on an accelerated timetable, reflecting the issue’s political importance for developing countries.
Ministers adopted a decision to pursue negotiations on a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for developing countries. The SSM concept would allow temporary tariff increases when imports surge or prices fall, and the decision required dedicated WTO negotiating sessions and progress review.
Ministers adopted a decision on cotton that prohibited export subsidies for cotton (with immediate action for developed members and a set deadline for developing members) and called for further reductions in trade-distorting domestic support. It also called for better market access for LDC cotton, linking cotton rules to development outcomes.
Ministers adopted a decision on preferential rules of origin for LDCs, aiming to make it easier for LDC exports to qualify for trade preferences. The decision built on earlier guidance by encouraging simpler, more transparent origin rules that better fit global supply chains.
Ministers extended the LDC Services Waiver, which allows members to give preferential access to LDC services and service suppliers. Extending it to 31 December 2030 aimed to give LDCs more time to benefit, while encouraging additional notifications and support to help LDC firms use the preferences.
MC10 concluded with adoption of the Nairobi Package, a set of ministerial decisions covering agriculture, cotton, and key issues for least-developed countries. The package became the conference’s main legacy: it advanced some long-running negotiation topics even as broader Doha Round disagreements remained.
2015 Nairobi Ministerial Conference and Decisions on Agriculture and Cotton