WASHINGTON, Sept 17: The United States and the European Union still have major differences on agriculture, but talks this week raised hope the two sides can work together to help reach a new world trade deal, US Trade Representative Rob Portman said in an interview.
“I really think we’re making progress on agriculture,” Portman said after a trip on Friday to view Hurricane Katrina recovery operations in the Port of New Orleans.
Portman and US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns met this week with their EU counterparts, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, as efforts to resolve contentious agriculture issues intensify before a World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong.
Ultimately, all 148 WTO members must agree on a set of formulas and timetables for eliminating agriculture export subsidies, reducing “trade-distorting” domestic farm payments and cutting tariffs. An agreement between the United States and the EU, two major farm subsidizers, over how to reach that goal would go a long way in achieving a global deal.
The EU, which completed its latest round of Common Agricultural Policy reform in 2003, is pushing for US cuts in domestic farm supports. The United States, which spends less than the EU on farm programmes, wants Brussels to agree to further cuts in domestic subsidies and its agricultural tariffs, which are also higher than the United States.
“What we need to see is real market access in order for us to consider subsidy reform,” Portman said. “We also need to see that they reduce their subsidies more than we do.”
Portman and Mandelson are expected to meet again next week on farm trade issues before joining colleagues from India and Brazil in Paris on September. 23. India and Brazil lead the G-20 group of developing countries, which has put forward a tariff-cutting proposal the United States and the EU have agreed to use as a basis for further discussions.
The United States also wants increased farm market access in countries such as Japan, Korea, Brazil, India and China as part of any farm trade deal, Portman said.
“I think we start from the position of already being very generous in terms of access to our market. The question is whether we’ll see reciprocal openings around the world in order for us to move on trade-distorting subsidies,” he said.
Portman confirmed the United States would likely host a “mini-ministerial” in the near future that would gather trade ministers from a number of countries to help advance talks before the critical Hong Kong meeting in December.
“We are going to push as hard as we can to make progress in the three major areas” of the negotiations — services, industrial and agriculture, Portman said.
The United States can cut a deal on domestic farm subsidies if other countries are willing to do their part, Portman said. But lawmakers should not worry US negotiators will tie their hands in crafting the farm bill due in 2007.
“I feel very strongly that we should not be writing the farm bill in the WTO discussions,” the former Ohio congressman said. “I don’t think we have to do that” because the United States only needs to make broad commitments on cutting trade-distorting farm subsidies, Portman said.—Reuters
