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EU, Brazil submit joint proposal on support for agri production to WTO
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Wednesday, 19 July, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Geneva
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The European Union (EU) and Brazil submitted to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a joint proposal on support for agricultural production and food safety measures.
“The objective is to limit market distortions, to ensure a global level-playing field for farmers while taking into account particular needs of developing countries,” said the EU in a statement.
In Geneva, Marc Vanheukelen, EU ambassador to WTO, said, “With the submission we are making today, we have now lived up to that promise to submit all our proposals in good time, for the eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11), scheduled to take place in Buenos Aires between December 10 and 13, 2017.”
“A great many of the WTO members rightfully consider agriculture as a gateway issue, in the sense that without agriculture, there cannot be a deal in Buenos Aires, and the ambition in agriculture will, to a great degree, determine the ambition in other files,” he added.
“Colombia, Peru and Uruguay have already expressed their support for the initiative, and are co-sponsors of the EU-Brazil proposal,” the EU stated. Agricultural domestic support is an important issue in the negotiations leading up to MC11.
Cecilia Malmstrom, EU commissioner for trade, said, “Together with Brazil and other countries, we are demonstrating our staunch support for a global trading system based on rules, at an important time for the WTO.”
“Our proposal is at once ambitious and realistic. It will ensure that we can have forward-looking, and hopefully successful, negotiations on this important issue in Buenos Aires,” she added.
The EU stated, “The proposal suggests levelling the playing field between WTO members by limiting trade-distorting farm subsidies in proportion to the size of each country’s agricultural sector.”
It added that the initiative took into account the specific needs of developing countries - the least developed countries would be exempted from any subsidy limits - in order to allow for the development of their farming sector.
(Source: Xinhua)
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