June 26, 2006

 

Canada to support supply-managed sector at WTO talks

 

 

The Canadian government will continue to take a hard line in its support for the country's supply-managed sector, said a Canadian official.

 

International trade ministers will be in Geneva starting Jun 29 in an effort to move forward on the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations. Canada will also continue to support the Canadian Wheat Board and push for the reduction of export subsidies in the US and EU, said the official.

 

"We're taking a hard line defending the issues that are of interest to our supply-managed industry," said Graham Barr, director of the multilateral trade policy division with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Canada's supply-managed sector includes dairy, poultry and egg production.

 

"We're really pleased that the negotiations at this point are structured around the idea of making the EU and the US be the ones to reduce their subsidies by the greatest amount," said Barr.

 

In the area of domestic subsidies, "everybody agrees that trade distorting domestic subsidies will be reduced. The question now is, by how much? Who has to reduce by the most? How quickly will they be reduced?" said Barr.

 

All countries including Canada have domestic sensitivities, "so it is a balancing act," said Barr. He noted that some countries are seeking larger tariff reduction than others.

 

Canada's supply managed industries are concerned about any cuts to tariffs that are applied to their products, said Barr. "The government has been very clear in demonstrating its strong support for supply management during the negotiations," he said.

 

Since the Hong Kong ministerial meeting in December there is still no agreement on the rules needed to go forward with the Doha Round of talks. After the April 30 deadline to establish modalities came and went intensive talks have been ongoing since May, and ministerial meetings in Geneva will start Jun 29. Barr said there are still large differences between the key players, such as the US, EU, Brazil and India.

 

The declaration that came out of the Hong Kong ministerial conference in December did not make as much progress as Canada would have liked, said Barr. However, a date was established for the elimination of export subsidies, he said adding that the commitment of the WTO members to finish the negotiations by the end of 2006 was also reaffirmed.

 

Time is running out to come up with an agreement, especially as the US trade promotion authority will run out in the middle of 2007. While the complex nature of international trade negotiations makes predictions difficult, Barr thought it was important to have the modalities in place before the end of July if a deal is to be reached.