Agriculture lies at the heart of the most pressing food security, development, and sustainability challenges of our time. As governments increasingly implement or consider trade-related measures to respond to those challenges, greater international cooperation on trade and trade policy is becoming vital  to reduce growing tensions, address negative externalities, and align food security, development, and environmental objectives. To support a trade-focused dialogue on sustainable agriculture, the Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) is mobilizing leading experts—participating in their personal capacity— from the trade, food systems, climate, and development communities to examine the trade dimensions of sustainable agriculture. The expert group will approach the issue through an integrated lens encompassing food security, development, and environmental sustainability objectives.

Agriculture is central to rural livelihoods and development prospects, particularly in many developing countries where a large share of the population depends on farming and related activities. However, the sector is failing to deliver food and nutrition security for all. Repeated external shocks over the last 20 years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and geopolitical tensions, have pushed food insecurity above pre-2015 levels—disproportionately affecting low-income populations. Moreover, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and greater frequency of extreme weather events have degraded ecological resilience, negatively impacted agricultural production, disrupted food supply chains, and displaced communities. 

Agricultural production is also contributing to significant environmental challenges, including deforestation, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss. Between 2000 and 2018, agricultural expansion drove 88 percent of global deforestation, with cropland expansion and livestock grazing respectively responsible for 50 percent and 38 percent of deforestation. Food systems also contributed nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, placing the sector as both a contributor to global warming and a critical sector for adaptation. 

In order to provide adequate, healthy and nutritious food to nine billion people by 2050 while responding to the rapidly changing diet of a growing middle class in urban areas, there is an urgent need to transform agriculture in ways that simultaneously enhance productivity, support livelihoods, strengthen resilience, and reduce environmental pressures .Faced with the imperative to respond to those challenges, governments and stakeholders are increasingly exploring options to harness trade and trade-related policies (e.g., tariffs, quotas, agricultural subsidies, standards and regulations as well as government procurement and regulatory measures) to promote more sustainable and resilient food systems . This has resulted in a patchwork of uncoordinated and highly fragmented trade-related measures—including tariffs, subsidies, sustainability standards, traceability obligations, or due diligence requirements—creating tensions among trading partners and high adjustment costs for producers in developing countries with limited financial and technical capacities to cope with such requirements. 

The overarching aim of the Expert Group’s work will be to identify a set of credible cooperation pathways, innovative approaches and possible outcomes at the international level to reduce growing tensions, and address negative externalities, while  fostering sustainable agriculture production and trade. A value added of the approach will be to build connections between experts and organizations that are in different ways engaged in key processes, international organizations, and stakeholder initiatives relevant to sustainability in the global agriculture trading system. Ultimately, the expectation is that this work will inform ongoing discussions at the WTO, such as in the CoA-SS or the EAT initiative, but also ongoing discussions in the OECD, FAO, UNEP, and in the context of the Global Biodiversity Framework. 

• 11 September 2026: Preliminary Consultation of the Expert Group

The International Expert Group on Trade and Sustainable Agriculture includes a geographically diverse set of experts from academia, think tanks, intergovernmental organizations, and stakeholder organizations representing various backgrounds and perspectives, and participating in their personal capacities.

• Chris BARRETT, Faculty Director, Cornell Collaboration for International Development Economics Research, Cornell University
• Pascale BONZOM, Global Head, Food and Agricultural Systems, International Union for Conservation of Nature
• Sofía BOZA, Associate Professor, University of Chile
• Elisabeth BÜRGI BONANOMI, Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern
• Carmel CAHILL, Former Deputy Director for Trade and Agriculture, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Independent Expert
• Chantal Line CARPENTIER, Head, Trade, Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development, UN Trade and Development
• José Luis CHICOMA, Programme Chair, The Future of Food
• Joseph D’CRUZ, Chief Executive Officer, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
• Annelies DEUSS, Senior Agricultural Policy Analyst, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• Joe GLAUBER, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute
• Jikun HUANG, Professor of Agricultural Economics, China Center for Agricultural Policy
• Ulla KASK, Senior Counsellor, Agriculture and Commodities Division, World Trade Organization
• David LABORDE, Director, Agrifood Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• David LUKE, Professor and Strategic Director, Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, London School of Economics and Political Science
• Shimukunku MANCHISHI, Economist, African Futures Policy Hub
• Alan MATTHEWS, Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy, Trinity College
• Raúl MONTEMAYOR, National Manager, Federation of Free Farmers Cooperatives
• Sophia MURPHY, Executive Director, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
• Aisha NAKITTO, Head, Policy Innovation Unit, AKADEMIYA2063
• James NEDUMPARA, Professor and Head, Centre for Trade and Investment Law
• Valeria PIÑEIRO, Director, Technical Cooperation, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture
• Benjamin RIVOIRE, Director, Sustainability and Crop Value Chain, International Seed Federation
• Tanvi SINHA, Trade Adviser, The Commonwealth
• Noncedo VUTULA, Chief Research Officer, The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance
• Vice YU, International Lawyer and Independent Consultant, Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade Dialogue