[20210819]IF11906_WTO第12届部长级会议（MC12）中的农业.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov August 19, 2021Agriculture in the WTOs 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12)The United States is one of the worlds largest agricultural trading countries and has a major stake in negotiations on trade rules and disciplines. Congress continues to seek to influence and monitor ongoing trade negotiations involving agricultural trade, including multilateral negotiations within the World Trade Organization (WTO), to ensure that U.S. agricultural, food industry, and consumer interests are reflected in their outcomes. Discussions on agricultural trade are expected to take place at the WTO 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) scheduled for late November 2021. Previous multilateral talks involving agricultural trade often have been highly contentious and hampered by a lack of consensus and by divergent agenda and reform priorities. Importance of U.S. Agricultural Trade U.S. food and agricultural exports totaled $149.7 billion and U.S. imports totaled $146.3 billion in 2020, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.4 billion, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In recent years, the United States has seen its once sizable agricultural trade s