Developing nations demand level playing field at Geneva trade summit

Developing nations demand level playing field at Geneva trade summit
GENEVA - The talking point at the G20 group of developing nations meet here has been the extra cuts to agricultural subsidies and tariffs with the developing world asking US and the EU to do more to restore parity between the haves and the have nots.

The United States and the European Union have presented rejuvenated proposals for the farm sector and while these have been welcomed, the developing nations say that much more needs to be done. America has proposed 60 percent cuts to the trade-distorting farm subsidies. Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim led the chorus demanding that more concrete steps are to be taken if the doomed World Trade Organization (WTO) is to be revived. "We welcome the fact that it was made, we think that it's a positive step, but there's also an agreement that it's an insufficient step," he said. The Indian trade minister Kamal Nath said, "I would welcome this step (the U.S. plan) but what we need is a leap that removes the great structural imbalances in agriculture."

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The main aim of these talks was to revive the Doha round of trade talks which began in 2001 and end next year. If any agreement is not reached, the whole initiative could end up as being labeled a failure.

The talks in Switzerland have entered into the second day on Tuesday and U.S. trade chief Robert Portman said that some real progress had finally been made, "For the first time, I see real movement towards having a successful meeting in Hong Kong," he said referring to the December ministerial level meet in that country. European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson was of the view that something had to give at the summit, "The time has come for all of us to put cards on the table," he said. The EU is offering to cut domestic farm support by 70 percent and reduce the highest tariffs on food imports by 50 percent. The talks conclude tomorrow.