WASHINGTON, 18 September 2005 — The United States will probably host a “mini-ministerial” meeting to try to advance discussions ahead of a World Trade Organization (WTO) conference in Hong Kong in December, US Agriculture Undersecretary J.B Penn told Reuters on Friday. “I think the US is probably going to host a mini-ministerial here at some point between now and December ... in addition to the ongoing discussions in Geneva,” Penn said in an interview “I think we’ll do what we need to do to try to get as much work done as is possible before Hong Kong,” he said.
The United States and the European Union are seeking common ground on agriculture to help save world trade talks from possible collapse at the Hong Kong meeting.
Discussions which took place this week between United States and European Union officials bode well, Penn added. “We had several developments this week. We had, I thought, productive discussions with (EU Trade) Commissioner Mandelson and (EU Farm) Commissioner Fischer Boel,” he said.
“And the president made a very forceful speech at the United Nations. I don’t think that anybody can say the US is being intransigent on anything, when the president said we’re prepared to do as much as anybody else is willing to do.”
Penn said the United States was prepared to cut farm subsidies in return for market access.
But he said it was up to other countries to demonstrate their commitment after President George W. Bush told a UN summit on Wednesday he was willing to drop all trade barriers if other countries did the same. “I think the onus is on some other people to show that they’re serious about these negotiations,” Penn said.
“We’re prepared to reduce our domestic supports if the EU and Japan will do so commensurately and we need market access.” EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said late on Thursday Bush’s statement was a good signal and added: “The EU will be offensive in our offers on market access if we meet the same willingness from others to move on domestic supports.” She pointed out that the European Union, which agreed to overhaul its agricultural policy in 2003 after marathon negotiations, had 11 million farmers while the United States had 2 million.
“I am quite confident in US willingness to make cuts in domestic support,” Fischer Boel said.
Penn said the EU should get some credit for the direction in which it was moving its agricultural policy but noted there was a considerable discrepancy in the amount America and Europe spend in subsidies. “Both US and EU agriculture generate something over $200 billion in value of output each year and I note that the EU uses trade distorting support that’s about three times the amount of the US,” Penn said.
“The average tariff on food and agricultural products coming into the US is 12 percent. In Europe and Japan the average tariff is something in the order of 30 percent. Our markets are relatively open. Lets level the playing field.” In Geneva, a senior US official, who declined to be named, said developing countries such as India, Pakistan and China would also have to lower tariffs.
“The question is, do we see global reform of subsidies?” said the official. “Economically it is a problem and politically it is a problem for us. From the US point of view, opening markets that are closed to us is fundamental.”