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EU members want concessions from others as condition for improved agriculture offer
(Wednesday, July 23, 2003 -- CropChoice news) -- International Trade Daily, 07/22/03: BRUSSELS--If the European Union is to improve its agriculture offer in
the World Trade Organization Doha Round, other countries, including the
United States, must first come forward with concessions, EU member states
agreed July 21.
In addition, EU member states demanded that modalities for
agriculture, industrial goods, and access to medicines, as well as the
so-called "Singapore" issues--such as competition, investment, trade
facilitation and transparency in public procurement--must be agreed to at
the Sept. 10-14 WTO Cancun ministerial session.
The EU Council also emphasized the need for the Cancun meeting to
reach an agreement ensuring that multilateral environment agreements are not
compromised by trade issues.
At the same time, the EU member states emphasized that while core labor
standards were not part of the Doha Development Round, there were a range of
other methods the Commission should pursue to integrate them into trade
policy. Those included boosting the standing of the International Labor
Organization in the WTO as well as promoting its generalized preferred
tariff scheme in bilateral trade agreements.
Belgian Demand on Globalization Rejected
The EU member states approved the conclusions outlining their goals
for Cancun meeting despite a demand by Belgium, which recently appointed a
new government, that called for recognition of the social concerns over
globalization. That demand was rejected, a Council of Ministers official
said.
Following an agreement by the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers in
June that for the first time cut the link between subsidies and farm
production, other leading agriculture exports countries insisted that the EU
had not gone far enough. However, EU member states made it clear that if the
European Commission, which negotiates on behalf of the EU in the WTO, is to
add the new reforms in the Doha Round, more concessions from the United
States and the CAIRNs group of farm exporting countries, which includes New
Zealand, Australia and Canada, are mandatory.
"The margin of maneuver offered by this CAP reform can only be used in
the Doha Development Round on condition of equivalent agricultural
concessions from the EU's WTO partners," EU member states agreed in a
statement. "The EU is now in a position to lead the way towards an ambitious
outcome on the negotiations on agriculture including the EU's offensive
interests and other objectives such as non-trade concerns."
Agriculture Issues
Commission Spokeswoman Arancha Gonzalez stated that the EU is
insisting that the United States reform its export credit regime and the use
of food aid while the CAIRNs countries must agree to stop using agriculture
boards, which the EU insists offer subtle subsidies for farm products. In
addition Gonzalez said countries such as the United States will have to
agree to EU demands that use of European geographical names on food and
drink products such as Champagne, Sherry, Burgundy and others be phased out.
"Without any concessions in these areas, the EU will not be improving
its agriculture offer," Gonzalez said.
Concerning industrial goods, which EU member states emphasized
concerns nearly three-quarter of all world trade, the Cancun ministerial
meeting must agree "on a single formula addressing tariff peaks, tariff
escalation and high tariffs as well as action on non-tariff barriers."
On the issue of access to medicines, the EU member states repeated the
demand that the United States agree in Cancun to the text that it insists
has had overwhelming support in the WTO in December of 2002.
Core Labor Standards
The approval of an EU policy for promoting core labor standards stems
from a Commission communication proposed in 2001 on the issue. After the EU
and other countries failed to agree that labor issues be part of the Doha
Round, the member states have been under pressure by trade unions and
development groups to continue to find ways to address the issue. Several of
the methods agreed by the member states are:
"This initiative will kick-start the EU's efforts to find a new
diplomacy based on increasing trade and promoting core labor standards with
all our partner countries," said Social Affairs Commissioner Anna
Diamantopoulou. "A key vector of this policy must be an empowered ILO." | |
