EU points finger over world trade trouble

WTO negotiators have frustrated arguments and stalled negotiations, European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said on Wednesday.

In an address to the European Parliament, the EU trade chief insisted countries like the US, Brazil and India had called for too much from Europe.

“Although it is fashionable to blame the EU, the opposite is true. We have moved the round forward on agriculture three times in last 18 months. Others have held it back because they demand too much,” he told MEPs.  

“Rather than seizing this opportunity our negotiating partners decided to take the easy way out by rejecting our offer on agriculture and criticising it in immoderate terms rather than engaging and enabling us to go forward.”

Mandelson added that the EU will not make any further agriculture offers in this round of WTO trade talks.

“I have no plans to make a further agricultural offer,” he said.

“This is not justified and would further unbalance negotiations. The time has come for others to match the effort we made.”
 
Mandelson acknowledged that he was “far from where he hoped to be” as he prepared to head for Hong Kong for ministerial talks on December 13  - but he added the talks have been held up by the loud voices of large scale agricultural producers.

“This is a development round, not an agricultural round. The two should not be confused,” he insisted.

On Tuesday night Mandelson set out a six-point package of help for poor countries as last-ditch attempts were made to salvage next month's meeting.

The move from Brussels came as India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and Argentina attacked the lack of progress.

Brazil's WTO ambassador, Clodoaldo Hugueney, said this week the EU's offer on agriculture offered "no real cuts and no real reform."

"We are seriously concerned about the current state of the negotiations. The burden of adjustment is being placed on developing countries," he argued.

But according to Mandelson’s assessment of the state of the troubled trade talks, the EU has done all it can to push the talks forward.

EU offers include reducing trade distorting subsidies by 70 per cent. Proposals tabled by Brussels also include cutting the average agricultural tariff from 23 per cent to 12 per cent.

The EU executive says this is the same as the current US level.

“Taken as a whole, this is the most substantial offer ever made by the EU in any trade round,” Mandelson insisted.

Meanwhile former WTO chief, Peter Sutherland warned ministers they could be heading for a fudge in Hong Kong.

“We're in a very, very dangerous situation,” he said on Tuesday. 

“The danger is we may get a halfway house; that is, a fudge that gets us over Hong Kong, but that doesn't have a total failure declared and is inadequate to bring us through the early months of next year.”

But Mandelson refused to accept blame for failed negotiations and warned the US and Brazil against hiding behind unrealistic demands.
 
“Stop hiding behind unfounded criticisms of the EU,” he said.

“If they continue to only ask for more from EU without paying into the pot, they risk destroying this round and they will come away with nothing at all.”

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