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50 WTO members oppose purely commercial approach to
agriculture
DOHA-Some 50 countries attending a WTO ministerial conference
here on Saturday called for the group to take non-commercial
aspects of agriculture into consideration when debating farm
subsidies.
Ministers in the World Trade Organization were holding their
first full day of negotiations in the Qatari capital of Doha
to forge an agenda and timetable for multilateral talks on
lowering trade barriers.
The 15-nation European Union and a number of other countries
are resisting demands by the United States and its allies in a
bloc known as the Cairns Group that government subsidies
aiding farmers to export their production be abolished.
Washington maintains that such assistance distorts trade and
hampers the ability of poor countries — unable to offer
subsidized prices — to compete in global markets.
The European Union counters by citing the “multifunctionality”
— or uniqueness — of agriculture and says some level of
subsidies is necessary to preserve rural societies and
economy.
“I am really convinced that agriculture cannot be considered
as any other industry,” said EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz
Fischler. Mauritius Agriculture Minister Pravind Kumar
Jugnauth maintained that “non trade concerns are universal and
there is no north-south divide on that matter.”
A draft declaration under debate by ministers here does not
give “non trade concerns the consideration they deserve,” said
South Korean Trade Minister Doo-Yun Hwang. Among the countries
backing the EU are Norway, Iceland, Israel, South Korea,
Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Senegal, Ivory Coast, the Czech
Republic, Hungary, Mautitious and Madagascar.
The Nation, November 09, 2001
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