U. S. sees breakthrough in farm-subsidy conflict

WTO TALKS IN ZURICH Canada onside with proposal, Trade Minister says

The United States and the European Union continued yesterday to push their joint proposal to phase out farm subsidies in the stalled round of global trade talks, despite opposition from developing countries and Japan.

Rob Portman, the U. S. trade negotiator, insisted yesterday in Zurich there is a chance there could be a breakthrough in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks planned for Hong Kong in December.

“For the first time, I see real movement toward having a successful meeting in Hong Kong,” he said, referring to a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization ( WTO) in December at which vital decisions have to be made.

The United States and the European Union have proposed phasing out as much as 90% of import tariffs on foreign agricultural products imposed by the richest countries in one stage, eventually bringing the import duties to zero.

The move, outlined this weekend in preliminary talks, was welcomed by Jim Peterson, the Canadian Trade Minister.

“One of our key priorities has been to achieve substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support, particularly by the highest spenders, the European Commission and the United States,” he said.

“ The negotiations had been stalled, and Canada appreciates the fact that the United States has now taken steps to move the negotiations forward.”

Yet other countries, including Brazil and Japan, said the United States and EU did not go far enough.

Celso Amorim, Brazil’s Foreign Minister, said developing countries in the G20 group he chairs believed the U.S. plan was “insufficient because it does not lead to real cuts in U.S. budgetary expenditures on subsidies.”

Kamal Nath, India’s Trade Minister, also said poorer countries were less than happy with the proposals.

“I would welcome this step [the U.S. plan], but what we need is a leap that removes the great structural imbalances in agriculture,” he said.

Mineichi Iwanaga, Japan’s Agriculture Minister, also said the United States was not going nearly far enough.

“ The reductions which are being asked of Japan and Europe are out of balance with the reductions that the U. S. is ready to make,” he said.

The powerful farm union in the United States, called COPA, also said it was unhappy with the proposals from the EU and United States.

But Mr. Portman said now is the time for countries to make concessions if they want to see any hope of the round, launched in Doha three years ago, succeeding.

“ We really don’t have time to play games,” he said. “We need to make real progress. If others don’t come along, then the Doha Round is in danger.”

The 148 countries in the WTO are trying to kick-start the talks in a bid to wrap them up in five days of meetings starting on Dec. 13 in Hong Kong. The round was originally scheduled to end on Jan. 1 this year.