WTO Ministers in Hong Kong Agree to End Farm Export Subsidies By 2013

Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

Hong Kong, 18 December: Trade ministers from nearly 150 countries agreed on Saturday [18 December] to progressively scrap agricultural export subsidies by 2013, clearing at least one obstacle to progress at World Trade Organization (WTO) free trade talks, according to their final draft statement.

After six days and nights of hard bargaining, ministers from 149 WTO member states also agreed to set a new deadline of 30 April next year to reach a full agreement on the Doha round of global trade talks that focuses primarily on lowering tariffs on a wide range of industrial and agricultural goods and services, the statement showed.

However, they failed to reach a compromise on so-called nonagricultural market access (NAMA), which aims to allow greater market opening in manufactured goods and non-farm products.

On 13 December, the trade ministers kicked off the Hong Kong conference to reach a consensus on the Doha talks.

Obstacles to a breakthrough include long-standing gaps on trading farm goods between the United States and the EU, and between developed and developing countries, making it unlikely, according to experts.

Only by reaching a consensus in Hong Kong on ploughing ahead with the Doha agenda will the parties save the talks from collapsing, they say.