Reuters | Feb. 26, 2004
The EU's refusal to embrace the goal of getting rid of all farm export subsidies by a certain date has been a major obstacle to progress in world trade talks.
Its compromise offer to eliminate export subsidies on commodities of special interest to developing countries has been largely ignored by other World Trade Organization (news - web sites) members, who have continued to push for a blanket elimination.
In a speech to the European-American Business Council, Lamy bemoaned the fact that no developing countries had yet come forward with a list of commodity export subsidies they would like to see eliminated.
"It is as if countries fear there is a trap here: as if countries are hooked on the media's standard view that the Europeans always have a secret agenda on agriculture, usually involving sugar. Well, we don't. We don't propose any a priori exclusions," Lamy said.
"And to take sugar again, the only question is perhaps the timeframe because clearly we can't eliminate immediately until our internal reform has worked its magic," he added.
The other major factor in negotiations on eliminating export subsidies is the willingness of others to "be ready to take equally comprehensive commitments on their own export support programs," Lamy said.Reuters:
