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Q31 (IAS/2015) International Relations & Global Affairs › International Organisations & Groupings › International trade regimes Official Key

The terms 'Agreement on Agriculture', 'Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures' and 'Peace Clause' appear in the news frequently in the context of the affairs of the

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: C
Explanation

The correct answer is option C - World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) is an international treaty of the WTO that was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO in 1995.[1] The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the "SPS Agreement") entered into force with the establishment of the World Trade Organization on 1 January 1995.[2] The SPS Agreement sets out the basic rules for food safety and animal and plant health standards.[2]

The 'peace clause' said that no country would be legally barred from food security programmes (in case of India it is procurement by FCI at MSP and its distribution through PDS) even if the subsidy breached the limits (10%) specified in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. The "peace clause" was an interim measure which prevents any WTO member from challenging any developing country for crossing the 10% subsidy cap.[3] All three terms are therefore directly associated with WTO agreements and provisions related to international trade in agriculture and food safety standards.

Sources
  1. [1] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 9: Agriculture > AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE > p. 350
  2. [2] Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 13: International Organizations > 13.5.1Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures > p. 380
  3. [3] Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 13: International Organizations > Total Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) and De-minimis level: > p. 382
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Q. The terms 'Agreement on Agriculture', 'Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures' and 'Peace Clause' appear in …
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 2.5/10 · 5/10
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This is a 'Sitter' question. These terms are the alphabet of the WTO chapter in any standard Indian Economy textbook (Singhania, Vivek Singh, or Ramesh Singh). If you missed this, your static core preparation has a fatal gap. It requires zero current affairs if you have read the basic static theory of International Organizations.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Are the "Agreement on Agriculture", the "Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures", and the "Peace Clause" agreements or provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
Origin: Direct from books Fairness: Straightforward Book-answerable
From standard books
Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 13: International Organizations > 13.5.1Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures > p. 380
Presence: 5/5
“The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the "SPS Agreement") entered into force with the establishment of the World Trade Organization on 1 January 1995. The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures sets out the basic rules for food safety and animal and plant health standards. The Agreement allows countries to set their own standards. But it also says regulations must be based on science. They should be applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health. And they should not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between countries where identical or similar conditions prevail.”
Why this source?
  • Explicitly names the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and states it entered into force with the establishment of the WTO on 1 Jan 1995.
  • Describes SPS as the WTO instrument setting rules for food, animal and plant health standards, showing it is a WTO agreement.
Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 9: Agriculture > AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE > p. 350
Presence: 5/5
“The Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) is an international treaty of the WTO. It was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO in 1995. Basic objective of AoA is to reform the principles of, and disciplines on, agricultural policy and also reduce the distortions in agricultural trade caused by agricultural protectionism and domestic support or subsidy provided by governments. AoA has three pillars: • 1. Domestic support or subsidy • 2. Market access • 3. Export subsidy commitment More details given in Chapter 18.”
Why this source?
  • States the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) is an international treaty of the WTO and entered into force with the WTO in 1995.
  • Explains AoA's objectives and pillars (domestic support, market access, export subsidy), linking it clearly to WTO disciplines.
Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 13: International Organizations > Total Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) and De-minimis level: > p. 382
Presence: 5/5
“The 'peace clause' said that no country would be legally barred from food security programmes (in case of India it is procurement by FCI at MSP and its distribution through PDS) even if the subsidy breached the limits (10%) specified in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. The "peace clause" was an interim measure which prevents any WTO member from challenging any developing country for crossing the 10% subsidy cap. It was expected to be in force for four years until Dec. 2017 and after that it would expire. The members had agreed to work on a permanent solution to reach an agreement by Dec.”
Why this source?
  • Defines the 'peace clause' in the context of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture as an interim measure protecting developing countries' food-security programmes from legal challenge.
  • Specifies the peace clause's scope (subsidy cap exceptions) and temporal nature, indicating it is a WTO-related provision rather than unrelated terminology.
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