Beijing, Sept 05: Agriculture will be a 'hot-ticket item' for negotiations at next week's WTO ministerial talks in Cancun where the EU, accused as "protectionist", would seek a balance between market opening and preservation of a viable countryside world-wide, a top EU trade official has said. "There is no question that trade in agriculture is a hot-ticket item. Our objective is simple: to find a balance between market opening and the preservation of a viable countryside and not just in the EU but around the world," European Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy said in an article in the state-run 'China Daily' today. "We in Europe and many others, including a number of developing countries, have made a political choice to support our agriculture because it is not just another economic activity. It plays a part in conserving the rural culture, the environment, food safety and in animal welfare," he said. Lamy said that despite critics saying the EU is "protectionist," the 15-member body had submitted an ambitious package on the table in January. "We proposed reducing customs duties by 36 per cent, reducing export subsidies by 45 per cent and reducing trade-distorting aid by over 55 per cent," he said.


Lamy added that in June, the EU announced a further reform of the EU common agricultural policy that enabled them to continue supporting their agriculture but moving further away from trade-distorting practices.


Bureau Report