Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler will meet tomorrow in Washington Robert Zoellik, trade representative of the U.S. government and Ann Veneman, U.S. Agriculture Minister.
After non-compliance, the key sectors of the various milestones and deadlines set by the timetable for the negotiations agreed at Doha in 2001 and after the stalemate of the various mini-ministerial conferences in recent months - last one in Sharm el Sheik - the two giants of international trade have decided, in view of the meeting of trade ministers that will begin in Montreal on Tuesday, addressing the question of agricultural trade, which remains the main stumbling block in negotiations. The objective
already seems to be to agree to Montreal - the last event before the Ministerial Conference to be held in Cancun September 10 to 14 - a common line on agriculture so as to prevent a deadlock in this area can affect other policy areas for European and Americans.
cha this scenario has already put up in arms exporting countries (including many developing countries) gathered in the Cairns Group, who fear a repeat of the scenario that led to the agreement in 1992 "Blair House" in agriculture ' context of the Uruguay Round, forged, unfulfilled in many developing countries, the USA and the EU.
And indeed, if the question of market access and tariff agricultural products on the distance between Washington and Brussels remain on the issue of subsidies to farmers, after the recent compromise on CAP reform and after the "Farm Bill" American, many can be consonance between the two sides of the Atlantic. The more recent statements of both parties indicate that the common goal may be to avoid that is already in Cancun lay down clear and binding targets on reducing subsidies and tariffs, as was proposed by Stuart Harbison, chairman of the Committee for agriculture in the WTO. Australia, leader of the Cairns Group calls instead for the present stalemate Cancun showing ambition and the voice of the Minister for Trade Peter Gray warns "If you can not make progress on agriculture, will not be for any industry."
While Cancun is not the final stage of the Doha Round negotiations which will conclude at the end of 2004, all agree that if the Mexican city will not be a clear indication of the direction in which to continue negotiations, the suspect stalled permanently. Risk anything that remotely if to defend protectionist policies in agriculture, and despite a round of negotiations that the EU had just wanted to baptize "Development Round", it will take into consideration the demands of developing countries, which After the disappointments of the Uruguay Round and as Doha proved even more than Seattle, they are no longer willing to stand by.
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