OTTAWA - Canadian officials are helping to broker critical international talks on farm subsidies designed to help crack open wider world trade in agricultural products.
Finding a way to end the billions of dollars in subsidies the United States and European Union give their farmers is crucial to Canadian producers, Trade Minister Jim Peterson said Tuesday.
"Our agriculture producers can compete with the best in the world but the incredible subsidies make it very difficult," Peterson said in an interview.
"It's absolutely critical that we reach an agreement on agricultural subsidies."
Talks at the 147-nation World Trade Organization in Geneva have focused on ending costly farm support programs.
Only then can broader negotiations continue toward the goal of expanding global trade under the WTO.
Canada has been trying to help an informal group of five influential WTO members -- the U.S., the EU, Brazil, India and Australia -- to come up with the basic outline of an agreement on agricultural liberalization as part of the WTO's current trade round.
Members of the world trade body are struggling to reach a framework agreement before the end of this month to set the tone for the rest of the negotiations.
That would bring them to the point they were supposed to reach during a ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, last September. The Cancun meeting collapsed, primarily because of disagreements over agriculture.
Peterson said the end-of-July deadline is more of a moving target designed to focus attention on getting a deal. "It's not a drop-dead type of deadline; it's probably a best-before type of deadline."
Resolving the issue is crucial to helping poor countries grow and prosper, he added.
"If we want the world to evolve economically and the developing countries to finally have an opportunity to prosper, the best thing we can do for them is to open up markets to trade in their agricultural products," he said.
"You can't do this unless the huge subsidies in the EU and U.S. are addressed."
Agricultural talks at the WTO have concentrated on three main areas: reducing import tariffs on farm goods, cutting or eliminating subsidies for exports, and reducing general subsidies paid to farmers.
Peterson spoke after the first meeting of the federal cabinet following last week's election which returned a minority Liberal government to Ottawa.
Prime Minister Paul Martin is expected to shuffle his cabinet in mid-July and Peterson said that while he enjoys the Trade portfolio, he'll do whatever his leader asks. "I have been very privileged to have served in this position and I'll be very pleased to serve in any capacity that the prime minister might decide for the future."Edmonton Journal (Alberta):
