Agence France Presse | September 5, 2001
PUNTA DEL ESTE, Uruguay - Leaders of the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries asked Tuesday for reduced farm subsidies to be a high priority in the next round of world trade talks.
The call came during discussions about a regional trade deal between the United States and South America's Mercosur trading bloc.
The United States is focused on restarting global trade talks stalled since 1999, but is open to regional and bilateral trade pacts as well, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick told reporters. "We are pursuing with the Mercosur countries to create a free trade agreement for all the Americas. Chile and other countries have expressed an interest in the possibilities of separate free trade, whether bilateral or in groups," Zoellick said.
"Our thought is that depending on the direction that the global economic process takes, that is a good investment, because it will help us either hemispherically or globally and perhaps with the countries we can work on more specific arrangements."
Trade and agricultural ministers from the 18 Cairns Group countries are meeting here through Wednesday to coordinate their positions on subsidies at the World Trade Organization meeting scheduled for November in Doha.
Members of the group -- Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Uruguay -- account for one-third of world agricultural exports.
The United States is one of four nonmembers invited to participate.
Agricultural protectionism and farm subsidies are among the thorniest issues in the negotiations ahead of the next round of talks, with the EU countries among the strongest defenders of subsidies.
The Mercosur countries -- Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay -- have repeatedly criticized US farm subsidies as well.
Disagreements between rich and poor countries, particularly on the issue of agriculture, were primary reasons a new round of talks failed to launch at the last full WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle in 1999.
If a new round of negotiations does not go forward, many Latin American countries, along with the United States, indicated they will focus efforts on regional agreements such as the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.Agence France Presse:
