The World Trade Organisation Agreement on Agriculture (Domestic Support) Regulations 2020

2020 No. 1578

Agriculture

The World Trade Organisation Agreement on Agriculture (Domestic Support) Regulations 2020

Made 16th December 2020

Coming into force 17th December 2020

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 43 to 45 of the Agriculture Act 20201, makes the following Regulations.

A draft of these Regulations has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament in accordance with section 43(4) of the Agriculture Act 2020.

S-1 Citation and commencement

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Agriculture (Domestic Support) Regulations 2020.

(2) They come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2. For the purposes of these Regulations—

“amber box domestic support” means domestic support which does not meet the criteria in—

(a) Article 6(5) of the Agreement on Agriculture2; or

(b) Annex 2;

“Aggregate Measurement of Support” has the meaning given in Article 1(a) of the Agreement on Agriculture;

“Annex 2” means Annex 2 to the Agreement on Agriculture;

“blue box domestic support” means domestic support which meets the criteria in Article 6(5) of the Agreement on Agriculture;

“classification”, in relation to domestic support, means its classification as amber box domestic support, blue box domestic support or green box domestic support, and “to classify” domestic support means giving it such a classification;

“green box domestic support” means domestic support which meets the criteria in Annex 2;

the “monetary value” of a scheme in a reporting year means the value in money of the total amount of support provided, or proposed to be provided, under that scheme during that year;

“Notification Requirements” means the Notification Requirements and Formats adopted by the World Trade Organisation Committee on Agriculture at its meeting on 8th June 19953;

“proposing authority” is the appropriate authority4which is proposing new domestic support, or bringing forward amendments to existing domestic support;

“reporting year” means the period of 12 months in relation to which the United Kingdom is required under the Agreement on Agriculture to submit to the World Trade Organisation a report on the total domestic support given in the United Kingdom;

“UK co-ordinating body” means any body designated by the Secretary of State under regulation 3.

S-3 UK co-ordinating body

UK co-ordinating body

3. The Secretary of State may, following consultation with the devolved authorities, designate a body in the United Kingdom to be responsible for co-ordinating the collection of information needed to enable the United Kingdom to comply with its obligations under the Agreement on Agriculture.

S-4 Limits on support

Limits on support

4.—(1) The total amount of amber box domestic support that may be provided in the United Kingdom each reporting year is the sum of—

(a)

(a) the amount set out in Section 1 of Part IV of Schedule XIX to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, part of Annex 1A to the agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation signed at Marrakesh on 15 April 19945, and

(b)

(b) the amount of any domestic support which is not required to be included in the calculation of the United Kingdom’s current total Aggregate Measurement of Support under Article 6(4) of the Agreement on Agriculture.

(2) The total amount of amber box domestic support, not including the reserve, that may be provided in any one country in the United Kingdom may not exceed—

(a)

(a) in England, 49.27% of the relevant amount;

(b)

(b) in Northern Ireland, 7.49% of the relevant amount;

(c)

(c) in Scotland, 12.67% of the relevant amount;

(d)

(d) in Wales, 6.83% of the relevant amount.

(3) The reserve may be used—

(a)

(a) to account for spending on amber box domestic support in a crown dependency, or any other territory whose spending on domestic support is taken into account in determining the Aggregate Measurement of Support provided in the United Kingdom;

(b)

(b) to provide amber box domestic support which applies to more than one country in the United Kingdom; or

(c)

(c) for any other purpose the Secretary of State, after consultation with the devolved authorities, considers appropriate.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a)

(a) “the relevant amount” is the amount referred to in paragraph (1)(a);

(b)

(b) “the reserve” is an amount equal to the sum of the amounts referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and (b), less the sum of the amounts provided under paragraph (2).

S-5 New or amended schemes

New or amended schemes

5.—(1) When a proposing authority proposes—

(a)

(a) to provide a new form of domestic support, or

(b)

(b) to make amendments to an existing form of domestic support which would change the information referred to in paragraph (6) previously notified in relation to that domestic support,

the proposing authority must give written notice of that support, in accordance with this regulation, as soon as practicable, and, unless paragraph (2) or (3) apply, at least six months before the day on which the proposing authority intends to adopt the new or amended domestic support.

(2) This paragraph applies if—

(a)

(a) the proposing authority is giving notice of amendments to an existing scheme, and

(b)

(b) in the opinion of the proposing authority, the amendments being proposed do not affect the classification of the support provided under that scheme.

(3) This paragraph applies if—

(a)

(a) the proposed domestic support is being introduced in response to—

(i) exceptional market conditions in one or more countries in the United Kingdom, or

(ii) a crisis in the sector to which the support relates in one or more countries in the United Kingdom, and

(b)

(b) the condition set out in paragraph (4) in relation to exceptional market conditions, or in paragraph (5) in relation to a sectoral crisis, is satisfied.

(4) The condition in this paragraph is satisfied if—

(a)

(a) where England is affected, the Secretary of State has made a declaration under section 20 of the Agriculture Act 2020;

(b)

(b) where Scotland is affected, the Scottish Ministers consider that the conditions set out in any of Articles 219 to 221 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products, as that Regulation has effect in Scotland under section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 20186, for the measures provided for in those Articles, are satisfied;

(c)

(c) where Wales...

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