New Zealand And Australia Pessimistic Over Doha Talks

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

07 November 2005

Agriculture Ministers for Australia and New Zealand warned last week that unless Europe is prepared to make further concessions with regard to cuttting tariffs for importing farm goods, the Doha trade talks are likely to collapse.

Late last month, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson put forward a further offer on farm trade, calling it Europe's 'bottom line'. However, US Trade Representative Rob Portman expressed disappointment with the offer, which would cap tariffs at 100% but allow 8% of products to escape cuts.

The package called for a reduction of the highest farm tariffs imposed by developed countries by 60%, whereas the US has proposed a 90% cut in the highest tariffs. The EU says this level is out of the question, but Mr Portman says that the new EU package amounts to only a 39% cut in tariffs on average due to various exceptions and loopholes in the package.

Observers have suggested that Commissioner Mandelson would probably be happy to go further, but he is being watched like a hawk by the French, who have a fanatical attachment to farm subsidies even though agriculture amounts to only 4% of their GDP.

Responding to the standoff between Europe and several other World Trade Organisation members, Australia's Agriculture Minister, Peter McGauran was quoted as saying that the Australian authorities are "deeply pessimistic" regarding the likely outcome of the talks.

Speaking to Reuters, meanwhile, New Zealand's Agriculture and Trade Minister Jim Sutton observed that:

"If that literally is their final offer, that is the end of the Doha negotiations."

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