The tariff package contained more. It ensured that the quantities imported before the agreement came into force could continue to be imported and ensured that new amounts of tariffs were not prohibitive. This was achieved through a system of tariff quotas that lowered tariff rates for certain quantities, higher (sometimes much higher) rates for quantities exceeding the quota. The reform of the 2003 CAP, which decoupled most of the existing direct aid, and the sectoral reforms that followed led to the deferral of most aid under the amber box and the blue box to the green box (61.6 billion euros in 2016/2017, see table below). Aid under the “amber box” (AMS) has fallen sharply, from EUR 81 billion at the beginning of the period of the agreement to EUR 6.9 billion between 2016 and 2017, even with successive waves of expansion. The European Union thus largely respects the commitments made in Marrakech (72.38 billion euros per year) for the AMS. In addition, the “blue box” reached 4.6 billion euros during the same notification period. In view of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed in Geneva in 1947, and the world trade organization (WTO) agreement signed in Marrakech in 1994 (OJ L 1994, p. The European Union and its Member States act in accordance with Article 207 (Common Trade Policy) and Articles 217 and 218 (International Agreements) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (5.2.2). The agricultural agreement prohibits export subsidies for agricultural products unless subsidies are on a list of commitments.
Where mentioned, the agreement requires WTO members to reduce both the money supply they spend on export subsidies and the amount of exports that receive subsidies. Taking into account the 1986-1990 averages as a baseline, industrialized countries agreed to reduce the value of export subsidies by 36% over the six years from 1995 (24% over 10 years for developing countries). Industrialised countries have also agreed to reduce subsidized exports by 21% over the past six years (14% on a 10-year value for developing countries). The least developed countries do not need to make reductions. The cuts in agricultural subsidies and protection agreed during the Uruguay round. Only the figures for the reduction of export subsidies appear in the agreement. In principle, agriculture is subject to all WTO agreements and agreements on trade in goods, including the 1994 GATT agreements and WTO agreements on issues such as tariff assessment, import authorisation procedures, due diligence, emergency measures, subsidies and technical barriers to trade. However, in the event of a conflict between these agreements and the agricultural agreement, the provisions of the agreement on agriculture apply. WTO agreements on trade in services and trade aspects of intellectual property rights also apply to agriculture. The Haberler report of 1958 stressed the importance of minimizing the impact of agricultural subsidies on competitiveness and recommended replacing price support with additional non-production-related direct payments, and expected discussions to be ongoing on green box subsidies.