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News Releases
No. 119/05
November 30, 2005
EU TRADE COMMISSIONER PETER MANDELSON MEETS LEADERS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
 EU
Trade Commissioner
Peter Mandelson (pictured at left) has today met with
representatives of the G90 group of developing countries
at their Ministerial Summit in Brussels. G90 Ministers
discussed the group’s position in the
Doha Development
Agenda trade negotiations ahead of December’s Hong Kong
Ministerial Meeting. Addressing G90 Ministers,
Commissioner Mandelson urged them to act decisively to
ensure that the interests of all developing countries
are strongly defended in Hong Kong. Commissioner Mandelson reiterated the EU’s
proposal for agreement of
a package of development measures at Hong Kong.
Speaking after the meeting, Commissioner Mandelson said:
"The Doha Round is different from all previous trade
rounds because it is focused on ensuring that the
world’s poorest countries benefit from the global
trading system. Any final outcome that does not reflect
their needs will be unacceptable to Europe. Through its
preferential market access schemes Europe already has
the most open market for developing country agricultural
goods in the world. Europe takes more farm exports from
Africa than the rest of the world combined, and most of
that produce enters the EU market tariff- and quota-free.
The EU has proposed steep cuts in its agricultural
tariffs – the steepest we have ever offered. But we have
not and will not agree to cuts that would eliminate the
preferential access we offer to
African and Caribbean
countries, as other’s proposal imply. For the sake of
development a serious negotiation must now converge on
ambitious but realistic middle ground. The voice of the
G90 must not be absent from that debate."
Putting balance back in the Doha negotiations…
The EU has insisted that Doha talks now move into
important negotiations on trade in industrial goods and
services. It is sometimes suggested that this is not in
the interest of the poorest; but African countries do
the bulk of their trade and pay their highest tariffs in
industrial goods – and they pay them to other African
countries. Chipping away at these barriers where
countries feel able is an important part of a
development round.
At Hong Kong Africa and Europe are committed to working
together for a properly balanced Doha Round that
reflects the needs of all and puts trade genuinely at
the service of development.
…and agreeing a Development package at Hong Kong
Alongside progress at Hong Kong on market access, Europe
has proposed that a package of development measures be
agreed to refocus the Round on its development goals.
Among other elements:
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The EU has called for all developed countries to offer
tariff- and quota-free access to all LDCs (Least
Developed Countries), on the model
of the European Union’s
Everything But Arms system.
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The EU believes that the WTO must adopt a package on
special and differential treatment to reconfirm the
flexibilities for LDCs that already exist in the WTO.
There should be no tariff cuts for Least Developed
Countries.
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The EU will be pushing to enshrine in the WTO’s
intellectual property agreements the conditions for a
better access to cheap drugs against pandemics.
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To help build vital capacity to trade, the EU will call
for a substantial "Aid for Trade" package along the lines
of what was agreed at the
Gleneagles G8 Summit. Europe
already gives more trade-related Assistance to the
developing world every year than the rest of the world
combined. It is time for others to share the burden.
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On
cotton, which is a crucial area for West Africa, the
EU has led the way in eliminating its export subsidies
and reducing its trade-distorting subsidies to a level
where they no longer affect the global price. The EU
also offers duty- and quota-free access to all cotton
imports from West Africa. The EU will call on others to
make similar commitments at Hong Kong.
For further information, please visit:
http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/HotTopics.htm#DDA.
Further Contact Information
Press and Media Relations
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
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