By Chris Jones - 24th May 2007
The EU is losing patience with its global trading partners and is prepared to pull back from subsidy cuts, Peter Mandelson has warned.
The EU trade commissioner, visiting Portugal on Thursday, said that Europe would withdraw its offer to slash import tariffs for farm goods if the US and other countries failed to match it.
“If others cannot make a commensurate effort to match Europe’s offers, then I will have no alternative to reviewing what Europe has put on the table,” he said.
Mandelson was responding to criticism from new French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who has accused him of being naïve in his negotiating stance.
Sarkozy, like his predecessor Jacques Chirac, wants Mandelson to take a tougher stance amid concerns that his is prepared to give too much away in order to broker a deal.
But Mandelson responded to the concerns, saying that “Europe won’t be the sole banker of the Doha round, no matter how much we want these discussions to succeed”.
The British commissioner has said he is prepared to cut tariffs by up to 50 per cent if other countries do the same – a move that has led to dismay in France.
But the US, India and Brazil have shown little sign of wanting to follow suit, although negotiators from the three countries are due to meet with Mandelson in mid-June for one last attempt to find a solution.
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