US and EU offers on agriculture at the WTO are an illusion

The US and EU offers on agriculture which are currently being negotiated at the WTO in Geneva would not cut overall spending on farm subsidies, ActionAid warns today.

The proposals on agriculture made by the US and EU were discussed yesterday by the US, EU, India, Brazil and Australia. An analysis of these proposals by ActionAid warns that trade-distorting domestic farm subsidies in the US and EU will not be reduced and could even increase.

The US and EU have offered to cut their rights to give trade-distorting domestic farm subsidies – offering cuts of 60% and 70% on total farm subsidy limits respectively.

ActionAid estimates that although the US currently gives $25bn in farm subsidies, it would still give $23-26bn in 2008-12 under the current offer. Likewise, the EU currently gives 64bn Euros, and would still give 55-60bn Euros.

"The US and EU proposals on cutting farm subsidies are an illusion and have only been tabled to gain concessions from poor countries to open up their industrial and services markets," says Tim Rice, ActionAid trade policy officer.

"Our recent consultations with WTO delegations from developing countries in Geneva confirm that the US and EU are sidelining poor countries in the current negotiations," says Aftab Alam, head of ActionAid’s Trade Justice Campaign. 

"The current proposals totally contradict the Doha declaration in which the US and EU committed to a ‘development trade round’ that would put reducing poverty at the heart of WTO global trade talks. Developing countries say this is turning into a market access round rather than a development round. ActionAid believes the current negotiations should be halted and new proposals urgently brought forward to deliver a genuine development trade round."