The Third Meeting of the FTAA Negotiating Group on Agriculture (NGAG), which was held from March 25-26, 1999, began with the Report of the Chair of the Negotiating Group on Market Access concerning the previous discussions held by this Group. Subsequently, the NGAG addressed its agenda which included the examination of priority issues such as the treatment of tariffs, non-tariff measures and safeguards within the framework of the FTAA (including the updating of the Hemispheric Data Base, measures that affect the applied tariff, and special regimes that could affect agricultural tariffs).

The Group then reviewed the other items of its regular agenda, pursuant to the terms of reference approved in Buenos Aires in June 1998, among which mention should be made of export subsidies (concerning this aspect, a proposal was made to adopt a unified position in order to achieve the total elimination of said subsidies, within the framework of the World Trade Organization negotiations, scheduled to begin in the near future), other measures and practices that distort the trade of agricultural products, including those that have equivalent effects to export subsidies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and activities linked to technical assistance.

The next meeting of the FTAA Negotiating Group on Agriculture will be held in Miami, from May 24-26, 1999.

The agenda of discussions and the list of delegations are attached to this communiqué.

1. Approval of the agenda

2. Report of the Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Market Access (NGMA).

3. Updated report on the Integrated Database.

   Part One: Main issues agreed upon for the third meeting of the NGAG.

4. Tariffs.

5. Non Tariff Measures (NTMs).

6. Safeguards.

   Part Two: Review of the remaining agenda issues.

7. Export Subsidies.

8. Other measures and practices that distort trade in products, including those with effects equivalent to export subsidies.

9. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.

10. Technical Assistance.

11. Other Matters.

Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, United States, Venezuela.