International Trade | By Bengt Ljung
BRUSSELS - European Union farm ministers started to erect their defenses of the European agricultural system Sept. 28 ahead of the expected onslaught at the global trade negotiations starting in Seattle in late November.
In a regular ministerial meeting, they agreed unanimously on the EU negotiating position for the Millennium Round of trade talks in the World Trade Organization. The position aims to protect the European agricultural market and improve the prospects of European exports, along with seeking legitimacy for bans for safety reasons on some imported foods, such as U.S. hormone-treated beef.
The United States and other farm exporting countries are preparing to challenge the EU agricultural policy for distorting world trade in agricultural products. The so-called Cairns Group of exporting countries, which includes Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Brazil among others, are planning a joint attack on EU direct aid to farmers and on EU export subsidies that make up the difference between high internal prices and low world market prices.
The agricultural council of ministers said in a six-page position paper that the European Union should strive to take "full advantage of the liberalization in world trade, while maintaining the European model of agriculture." The ministers stood firmly by the direct-aid scheme, but thought the EU should be ready to negotiate export subsidies, the statement said.
The position paper requested that all export supports should be treated on an equal basis, demanding "discipline" in the use of export credits from the United States and others. "The council sees a need to take an offensive line within the forthcoming WTO negotiations," the document said.
In return for improved market access for its exporters, the EU ministers were ready to negotiate lowering agricultural barriers, although the reductions should not be uniform in all sectors. The officials said the EU should also seek WTO approval in the negotiations for important non-trade related issues - that is, to take into account concerns for environmental protection, safety and food quality, and animal welfare.
"The European Union should seek solutions which assure consumers that the WTO will not be used to force onto the market products about whose safety there are legitimate concerns and which allow the European Union to establish the appropriate level of protection." the statement said.
The position paper represented a compromise engineered by Finland, currently holding the rotating presidency of the European Union. It masked differences between a group of countries more favorable to free trade and a more protectionist group led by France. The free traders, Britain, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden, want the EU negotiating stance to be as flexible as possible.International Trade:
