1.市场准入
农产品市场准入的核心问题是建立“单一关税制”(tariff-only regime),将原有的用于控制农产品的非关税措施,如配额、许可证等,全部转化为关税的形式。易言之,将关税作为控制农产品进出口的唯一措施。这样一来,农产品市场准入就由原来比较复杂的问题转化为了简单的关税减让问题。根据缔约方的承诺,发达国家应该在6年之内(1995~2000年)将农产品普通关税平均削减36%,其中某一税目的削减比例不得低于15%,发展中国家则应在10年内(1995~2004年)以不低于发达国家2/3的水平对关税进行削减。[4]
市场准入的规定见《农产品协议》第4条第2款,该款规定,各成员不得维持、采取或重新使用已被要求转化为普通关税的任何措施,除非第5条和附件5中另有规定。上诉机构在“智利——农产品价格波幅制度及保障措施案”(Chile-Price Band System and Safeguard Measures Relating to Certain Agricultural Products)中对本款进行了以下的阐述:Article 4.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture should be interpreted in a way that gives meaning to the use of the present perfect tense in that provision-particularly in the light of the fact that most of the other obligations in the Agreement on Agriculture and in the other covered agreements are expressed in the present, and not in the present perfect, tense. In general, requirements expressed in the present perfect tense impose obligations that came into being in the past, but may continue to apply at present。