WTO Ag Accords Blasted

OTTAWA - Sep 14/05 - SNS -- The last agricultural agreement reached by the World Trade Organization (WTO) not only failed to deliver its promise of greater access to world markets, it has lead to a deteriorating situation for farmers around the world, asserts Peter Clark, President of Grey, Clark, Shih & Associates.

Speaking at a newsmaker breakfast at the National Press Club of Canada, Clark argued agreements reached under the Uruguay round of trade negotiations have resulted in falling prices and an inability by some segments of agriculture to recover their cash costs of production.

"Substantial improvement in access to foreign markets was a main promise of the Uruguay Round Agreements," Clark said. "Canada has been very assiduous about living up to its WTO obligations. It has reduced subsidies - indeed; Canada did so faster than required, in part to reduce budget deficits, and in part because Canada always respects its international obligations. However, in general, farmers were not able to export much more of their products after the last round."

Several countries that are big proponents of free trade have found various creative ways to limit imports, such as Byzantine quota allocation rules, technical barriers and the use of sanitary and phytosanitary measures. This time, wealthy countries are not expected to reduce their subsidies substantially, even if they talk of changing the types of subsidies they provide.

"They talk the talk but they sure don't walk the walk," said Clark. "While blatant export subsidies were disciplined, so-called non-distorting domestic support proliferated and became very disruptive. Farmers who get their income primarily from the marketplace have suffered and their situation will not improve without major changes."