EU/US Agree Joint Paper In Agriculture Talks

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

15 August 2003

Trade representatives from the United States and the European Union earlier his week finally agreed a joint framework that will form the basis of future agriculture negotiations and focuses on domestic support, market access and export competition.

"Our WTO partners called on us to show leadership and asked us to come up with something constructive. We have now delivered," observed Agricultural Commissioner Franz Fischler in a statement.

"Backed by sweeping farm policy reform, the EU is ready to lead by example and to find common ground," Fischler continued, adding: "I am very pleased that having worked with a spirit of compromise and determination, we and our US friends have been able to reach such a reasonable framework for the further negotiations. We look forward to continuing the work with all the WTO members, in the same constructive spirit, in the three weeks which remain before the Cancun meeting"

Meanwhile, the EU's chief trade negotiator Pascal Lamy commented that he was "delighted" with the agreement and said the joint paper "is just what is required to enable the WTO negotiations to change gear and move us into the final phase."

"The paper provides a solid and sustainable basis upon which to complete the agricultural negotiations which are, after all, the cornerstone to the Doha Development Agenda. Both the EU and US have committed themselves to concrete action in favour of DCs. Others must now do their bit to bring us down the home straight," stated Lamy.

With regards to export competition, the Commission explains that the joint paper has set out three broad areas which will form the basis of future negotiations:

"Firstly, a clearly defined parallelism between the disciplines imposed on export subsidies refunds and exports credits. Secondly, it provides partial elimination of export subsidisation for a common list of products of interest for DC. Thirdly, it provides a path for parallel reduction of export subsidisation for the products that are not eliminated. In addition to that, there will be clear discipline on food aid programs to prevent misuse and disciplines also on the transaction of state trading enterprises."

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