International Trade Daily | October 22, 2001 | By Rossella Brevetti
A draft compromise text on agriculture from World Trade Organization General Council Chairman Stuart Harbinson fails to adequately address nontrade agriculture concerns such as food safety and rural development, a European Commission official said Oct. 19.
Gerry Kiely, who is head of agriculture, fisheries, and consumer affairs for the EC delegation in Washington, made his comments at a press briefing.
The draft compromise agriculture text, which was sent to WTO members Oct. 8, was aimed at filling a gap in a draft ministerial declaration circulated by Harbinson Sept. 28 outlining the possible framework for a new global trade round.
The EU sees four pillars as essential planks in the agriculture negotiations and assigns all four equal importance, Kiely said. The four pillars are: market support; export subsidies; market access; and nontrade concerns, he said.
Kiely said that the European Union was "totally committed" to negotiations on agriculture, preferably as part of a larger trade round to give participants more room for trade-offs.
Nontrade Agricultural Issues
With respect to nontrade issues, Kiely said that protecting the rural landscape and rural environment is a very important part of the EU's agricultural policy. Food safety and the precautionary principle must also be addressed, Kiely said, indicating that the EU wants to clarify how and under what circumstances the precautionary principle can be used, but is not interested in reopening the WTO's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.
Applied to foods, the precuationary principle would allow regulators to take action when the safety of food ingredients or products is considered uncertain.
The EU believes that the Harbinson text does not accord nontrade concerns an equal status with trade concerns, Kiely said. "We believe [nontrade concerns] have an equal status," he remarked.
The WTO's fourth ministerial conference is scheduled in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 9-13. Both the EU and the United States, among other WTO members, hope to launch a new trade round at the ministerial.
The EU is very confident that agriculture will not be a stumbling bloc to the launch of a new trade round, he said. However, he warned that the EU opposed language that would prejudge the outcome of the negotiation. Language calling for a phaseout of export subsidies would be prejudging the negotiations, he said.
The EU has signalled its readiness to reduce trade distorting market support in a negotiating position it has already tabled, Kiely said. The EU is also prepared to move on export subsidies as long as all types of export subsidies are covered, he remarked, pointing to U.S. export credits. Export subsidies have declined in importance for the EU over the years, Kiely commented. In a position shared with the United States, the EU also wants disciplines on state trading enterprises, he added.
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