What is G-33?

Feb. 26, 2024

Ahead of the 13th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a majority of the G-33 countries have called for a permanent solution to public stockholding for food security.

About G-33:

The G33 (or the Friends of Special Products in Agriculture) is a coalition of developing and least-developed countries.
Despite the name, there are currently 47 member nations. Some of the main countries include India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines, Turkey, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Korea.
It was established prior to the 2003 Cancun ministerial conference that was coordinated during the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, specifically in regard to agriculture.
Dominated by India, the group has "defensive" concerns regarding agriculture in relation to WTO negotiations, and seeks to limit the degree of market opening required of developing countries.
The group has advocated the creation of a "special products" exemption, which would allow developing countries to exempt certain products from tariff exemptions, and also a "special safeguard mechanism" which would permit tariff increases in response to import surges.