The members of the WTO are still far from agreeing on the question of the abolition of subsidies in agriculture wanted by the leader of the organization, estimated Wednesday the Minister for Foreign Trade, Franck Riester.
The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had urged countries in mid-October to find an agreement to end subsidies in agriculture that disadvantage poor countries and harm the environment.
“It’s a sensitive issue,” Riester admitted to reporters in Washington. “I think the momentum is not really at the same level as (we have) for (subsidies in the) fisheries sector,” he added, noting that the members of the Organization do not ‘had not yet had enough time to work on this issue.
European subsidies to agriculture (around 9.4 billion euros per year for France, the first beneficiary) represent a significant share of farmers’ income.
The United States also massively supports its agricultural sector.
Presented on November 8, a revised draft text – aimed at prohibiting subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing and removing those that promote illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing – to be considered during the Ministerial Conference November 30 to December 3 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Regarding subsidies in the agricultural sector, Franck Riester noted that it was necessary for countries to be able to work on the reasons why this system is not effective and what would be “the right way to help this important sector for all the countries “.
The French minister underlined that if the members of the WTO obtained progress on fisheries, on the reform of the organization and the role that it will have to play in terms of sustainable development, “it would be a good result. for a ministerial ”.
Ministers from around the world will examine the functioning of the multilateral trading system with the objective of reforming it during this 12th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization.