Cairns Group Milestones
2005
December - The Cairns Group welcomes Pakistan as its 18 th member and issues its first joint press statement with the G20 urging progress during the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting.
November - The Cairns Group urges Ministers in the lead up to the Hong Kong Ministerial to face up to the challenge of narrowing the divergences on some of the central issues facing the negotiations, including how to structure the commitments on market access and domestic support and to achieve further convergence on export competition.
July - The Cairns Group expresses disappointment about the lack of progress in the Doha negotiations and calls upon all WTO members to work together with a renewed commitment to address the key issues blocking progress in agriculture.
April – At their 27th Ministerial Meeting held in Cartagena, Colombia, Ministers reiterate that there can be no successful outcome to the Doha Round without a substantial package of agricultural trade reform, and commit to intensifying their efforts in the lead up to the WTO 6th Ministerial Conference to be held in Hong Kong in December 2005.
2004
August - WTO Members agree to Framework on Agriculture. The Framework realises a long time Cairns Group objective of eliminating export subsidies.
February - At the Ministerial Meeting in Costa Rica, Ministers reaffirm their commitment to achieving substantial progress in the agricultural negotiations in 2004. The Group stresses it is ready to work actively with all WTO members and groups, such as the G20, to agree on a framework for negotiating modalities that is consistent with the high level of ambition of the Doha mandate.
January - The Cairns Group welcomes the letter by United States Trade Representative Bob Zoellick signalling that the United States intends to engage actively in the WTO agriculture negotiations in 2004 with a view towards achieving an ambitious result.
2003
December - The Cairns Group welcomes the positive indications of WTO Members in recent weeks and during the General Council meeting on 15-16 December to re energise the Doha negotiations.
November - The Cairns Group addresses the UN General Assembly, expressing concern at the failure of the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun to advance the Doha Development Agenda and urges all WTO Members -especially the major developed countries -to reaffirm their commitment to re-engage in the negotiations without further delay.
September - The Cairns Group stresses that agriculture is the central issue facing Ministers at the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Cancuún, Mexico. It calls on Ministers to build momentum on agriculture and recognise that agriculture is central to delivering the 'development dimension' of the Doha Development Agenda.
Cairns Group Farm Leaders also urge Cairns Group Ministers to work vigorously toward a successful outcome and stress that there can be no Doha Round outcome without a comprehensive agreement on agriculture.
2002
November - Between September and November 2002, Cairns Group members tabled additional negotiating proposals on market access, domestic support and export competition. These proposals provided the basis for the Cairns Group’s negotiating position in the Doha Round agriculture negotiations.
October - Cairns Group Ministers hold their 24th Ministerial Meeting in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. They raised concern about the lack of engagement on the Doha Round negotiations and restated their readiness to work with other WTO members to ensure the negotiations reflect the closely inter-related nature of the three ‘pillars’ of real agriculture reform: market access, domestic support and export competition.
The Cairns Group also welcomed the participation of Uganda at the 24th Ministerial Meeting. The Cairns Group also noted that there were many similarities between the reform proposals of Cairns Group members and the proposals of the African Group, of which Uganda is a member.
May - The Cairns Group condemns the US Farm Bill and calls on the US to demonstrate the necessary leadership for the attainment of an ambitious and comprehensive program of agricultural liberalisation and reform in the current WTO negotiations.
2001
November - Cairns Group Ministers welcome the WTO Mandate on Agriculture in Doha, Qatar, noting that the Mandate will enable the Group to pursue its objectives in the negotiations for a fair and market orientated agricultural trading system.
2000
November - The Cairns Group submitted a negotiating proposal on Market Access. This proposal called on WTO Members to deliver, in an agreed timeframe, vastly improved market access opportunities for all agricultural and agrifood products.
October - At the 21st Ministerial Meeting in Banff (Canada), Cairns Group Ministers assessed the progress of the negotiations so far and reaffirmed their strong commitment to move the next phase of the agriculture negotiations forward. Egypt's Minister for Economy and Trade, Dr Youseff Boutros-Ghali and EU Agriculture Commissioner, Dr Franz Fischler attended the meeting as special guests and engaged in fruitful discussions on agriculture trade reforms with Cairns Group Ministers.
September -The Cairns Group submitted a negotiating proposal on Domestic Support. This proposal sought major reductions in domestic support leading to the elimination of all forms of trade and production-distorting support.
June - The Cairns Group submitted a negotiating proposal on Export Competition. The proposal called for the complete elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies.
1999
December - The Cairns group expressed regret that, despite substantial progress in developing a detailed agriculture decision, the Seattle WTO Ministerial ended on December 3 without agreement on a new round of global negotiations. The Group acknowledged that mandated agriculture negotiations would begin shortly, and reaffirmed its commitment to fundamental reform of global agricultural markets.
November - Cairns Group Ministers welcomed new members Bolivia, Costa Rica and Guatemala, bringing the Cairns Group membership to 17. On the eve of the Seattle WTO Ministerial meeting, Cairns Group members emphasised that a strong and early decision on agriculture would be central to ensuring the success of the meeting.
August - At the Nineteenth Cairns Group Ministerial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Cairns Group Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to their objectives as outlined in the Sydney Vision Statement, and called for decisions to be taken in Seattle on a detailed negotiation plan. Ministers highlighted that this will require the elimination of export subsidies and trade-distorting domestic support, and major gains in market access.
1998
May - At the 2nd WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, Cairns Group Ministers welcomed the agreement at the Conference to begin preparations for the next round of agriculture negotiations. The WTO Geneva Ministerial Declaration binds WTO members to a preparatory process beginning in September 1998, the result of which will be a decision at the 3rd WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle 30 November to 3 December 1999 on the scope, structure and time-frame for the agriculture negotiations.
April - At the 18th Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting in Sydney, Australia, Cairns Group Ministers endorsed the Cairns Group Vision Statement. The statement reaffirms Cairns Group countries' commitment to agriculture reform and sets an ambitious set of objectives for the Cairns Group for the next round of agricultural negotiations in the WTO scheduled to commence in 1999. Cairns Group Farm Leaders met at the same time as the Ministerial meeting, reinforcing the message of the Vision Statement.
1997
June - In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Group stressed that it would be seeking far reaching and ambitious reform of world agricultural trade when negotiations commence in 1999 and agreed to prepare within the next year options and strategies for all the key areas of agriculture requiring reform.
1996
December - In Singapore the Cairns Group welcomed the decision of WTO members to start, early in 1997, a focused work program to prepare for further negotiations, to begin in 1999.
June - In Cartagena, Colombia, the Group agreed to pursue a WTO commitment to a realistic and balanced program of work in order to prepare for the initiation of multilateral negotiations on agriculture in 1999.
1995
May - In Manila, the Philippines, the Group expressed determination to renew trade liberalisation negotiations as soon as possible, noting the Uruguay Round outcome as 'a significant first step' in rolling back agricultural trade barriers.
1994
May - In Montevideo, Uruguay, the Group reaffirmed that there was still an important role for the Cairns Group in the post Uruguay Round trade environment and undertook a major work program.
April - At the conclusion of the Uruguay Round negotiations in Marrakesh, Cairns Group Ministers agreed to maintain the Group and continue to pursue efforts for further agricultural reform.
1993
October - In Geneva, the Group rejected the concept of partial deals and insisted that agriculture be part of the final outcome. The Group insisted that agriculture was not solely a transatlantic issue and that any deal done between the majors on agriculture had to take account of Cairns Group interests.
June - In Bangkok, Thailand, the Group agreed that a delegation of Cairns Ministers should make direct representations to the G7 Summit meeting in Tokyo.
1992
June - In Geneva, the Group sent a strong message to the G7 on the need to break the deadlock on agriculture.
1991
December - In Geneva, the Group expressed strong support for GATT Director-General Dunkel's efforts to mediate a Uruguay Round agreement.
1990
July - In Santiago de Chile, Chile, the Group reiterated that the Round could not be included without a substantial outcome on agriculture.
1989
April - In Geneva, Switzerland, the Group played a critical role in the framework agreement with US, EU and Japan to cover negotiations during the remainder of the Round.
1987
October - In Ottawa, Canada, the Group tabled a comprehensive negotiating proposal.
1986
September - In Punta del Este, Uruguay, GATT members agreed to a mandate to negotiate on agriculture in the Uruguay Round.
August - Inaugural meeting in Cairns, northern Queensland, Australia. Ministers agreed to form an alliance to ensure that agricultural trade issues would be given a high priority in the Multilateral Trade Negotiations.