An alliance of food-importing countries, including South Korea, issued a joint statement Monday calling for the right to protect key farm products amid expectations of a framework agreement on agricultural sector liberalization at the end of the month.
The statement, which was adopted at the end of the ministerial talks of the G-10 members, said that each of the member countries should be able to set aside certain key goods to be exempt from tariff cuts.
The one-day meeting, held at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters, convened agricultural ministers from South Korea, Switzerland, Japan, Norway, Taiwan, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Mauritius, Israel and Bulgaria.
Agriculture Minister Huh Sang-man led the South Korean delegation to the meeting.
Market access to farm products is the biggest hurdle to concluding the WTO's Doha Development Agenda, aimed at further dismantling trade barriers around the world.
The 147-member WTO is seeking to reach a framework agreement on the agricultural issue by the end of July.
However, even as the WTO discussions appear to be making progress, developed and developing countries have yet to reach an understanding on farm market liberalization.
Food importers demand an end to the subsidies developed countries such as the European Union and the United States give to their farmers, citing depressed prices. Food-exporting nations oppose the high customs duties imposed on goods by their less-developed trading partners.
Ministers from Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India and the United States will meet in Paris on Saturday for talks on the framework agreement.
Huh will return to Seoul on Wednesday after holding a meeting with WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakd to convey South Korea's position on the issue of farm market liberalization.Asia Pulse:
