The Doha Development Agenda and European agriculture

29 July 2008 - Statement at the press conference after the failure of the Doha Round Talks [pdf]

26 July 2008 - Speaking points to the press [pdf]

17 July 2008 - Speaking points to the press (Press conference ahead of WTO talks)

Factsheets:

• The Geneva Ministerial (also available in )
• The bigger picture (also available in )
• Doha's benefits
• Technical terms
• Classifying farm supports in the WTO
   

The Potsdam G4 meeting – a wasted opportunity

22 June 2007 - The failure by the G4 countries to make progress on the Doha Round of world trade talks was a huge disappointment and a very bad moment for the multilateral system.

The European Union has worked very hard to get a deal and shown willingness to squeeze the lemon to the very last drop to obtain a balanced result among the G4 countries.

If we had achieved such a result, we would have opened major new market opportunities, in particular for the developing countries.

Europe was prepared to cut its average farm tariffs by more than half. It took decades to obtain the same result for industrial tariffs.

We were prepared to eliminate export subsidies by 2013 and cut trade distorting domestic farm subsidies by more 70%.

Even for products that are sensitive for us like beef, new export possibilities the size of total Argentinean beef exports were on the table. Overall there were total opportunities on offer exceeding by three times those that were agreed in the Uruguay Round.

Of course we hope that the Geneva process can do better, but frankly I am not optimistic.
Potsdam represented an historic opportunity.

Firstly, on market openings. And those who risk losing the most were not at the meeting.

Some believe that these opportunities can be recuperated through bilateral deals. I have to disappoint them. The EU will never be able to offer anything at the bilateral level of the order we were prepared to offer in multilateral negotiations.

We also have to prepare ourselves for the fact that we now risk finding ourselves in a more uncertain world as far as agriculture is concerned.

We also regret that we may have lost leverage on the direction in which US agricultural policies will develop over the coming years. Potsdam was a real possibility to start a change of direction.

If the Doha Round fails, all constraints will have gone. This would be bad for the EU and bad for the developing world.

1 August 2004: The 147 Members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) unanimously agreed on a framework for modalities how to liberalise farm trade within the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). The framework agreement will deliver a much bigger farm trade liberalisation step compared to the Uruguay Round. It will bring a substantial cut in trade-distorting agriculture subsidies, the elimination of trade distorting export practices, and a significant opening of agriculture markets closer. All developing countries will benefit from special treatment, allowing them to liberalise less over a longer period. The 50 poorest countries in the world do not have to undertake any commitments. Today's decision fully recognises the EU's fundamental farm policy reforms and ensures that also other rich countries make their farm support systems more trade-friendly. Before concluding the Doha Round, the detailed terms (reduction percentages, implementation periods, end dates for export subsidisation tools) will be negotiated.

The agreement in a nutshell

Full text of the framework agreement [Important notice]

Press release (31/07/2004)

See also on the Commission's "Agriculture" web site: International Trade relations

CAP "Health Check"

Rural Development Policy 2007-2013

Agricultural Product Quality

Simplification of the CAP

The reform of the wine sector