Aiming to boost world trade talks and get poorer countries on side, the European Union's top trade negotiators proposed Monday that rich nations, including the United States, Japan and Canada, drop all forms of subsidies on farm export products.
EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said the EU was ready "go the extra mile" to get a midterm deal by July at the World Trade Organization.
"We are ready to show flexibility," Lamy told reporters. "Everything is on the list, everything is on the table."
But he added a further dismantling of EU export subsidies would depend on a "mutual disarmament" from other key agricultural exporters like the United States, Australia and Canada.
With a key WTO ministerial meeting on Thursday in Paris, Lamy and EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler sent a letter to all 147 members of the WTO outlining three areas where the 25-nation trade giant was willing to compromise.
It said the EU would cut "all export subsidies" on condition Washington and others do the same with their farm support programs.
The EU wants Washington to do away with subsidized export credits on farm products, and the practice of buying farm surpluses to provide food aid for poor countries.
It also pointed to Canada's monopolistic marketing of crops though its wheat board, which regulates production and prices.
"Our American, Australian or Canadian partners have to make clear that they will fully match the EU on the forms of export support they use," said EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler.
Lamy also suggested a special trade package for the WTO's 90 poorest members and expressed willingness to compromise on other EU demands, disliked by developing countries, including competition, investment and government procurement policies.
With elections in the United States looming in November, and the current European Commission term set to expire in October, Lamy said the letter was to try and push ahead talks at the Paris meeting.
"We have a window of opportunity which a number of us want to take advantage of," Lamy said. "We want to be more open, simpler and clearer."
Agriculture has been the major stumbling block in making progress on the WTO trade round, which is already months behind schedule. WTO members have set themselves a deadline of July to agree on the framework for negotiations, including the formula for tackling agricultural tariffs.
The so-called Group of 20 developing countries, led by Brazil, South Africa and India, have long demanded the EU and the United States get rid of the what they see as unfair subsidies, arguing their farm goods can't compete.
Lamy said the EU has already moved to slash export subsidies by billions of euros from the [euro]10 billion to [euro]15 billion over a decade ago (US$12 billion to US$18 billion) to the now [euro]3 billion (US$3.5 billion) a year on everything from sugar, beef and dairy products.
Until now the EU has held firm on keeping some farm subsidies, which many of its trading partners blame for distorting world farm markets. Lamy reiterated that the EU would only phase in such cuts as to not hurt European farmers.
The international relief organization, Oxfam and environmentalist group WWF called for the EU to act unilaterally and set an example for the others.
"If the EU is serious about showing real leadership in a genuine development round, these concessions should not be made conditional on progress in market access and domestic support, and should not require reciprocal action by the U.S.," said Jo Leadbetter from Oxfam.
Lamy said however, that the trade talks were a negotiation and the EU could not move to offer concessions without getting something in return.
The EU and Washington say they want to see big cuts in import duties on farm goods in poorer nations.
At a World Bank-sponsored development conference in Brussels, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt conceded market-distorting agriculture subsidies were making it "impossible" for poor countries in the southern hemisphere to compete.
"Europe, like the United States, is protectionist," he said in opening remarks. "And as long as we stay that way, there can be no genuinely free trade."
Trade ministers from around 30 countries, including all the major trading powers, are due to meet in Paris on Thursday to try to speed up progress at the trade talks.Associated Press:
