The chair of agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization has published controversial proposals that Canadian critics say would lead to the destruction of supply management and the Canadian Wheat Board.
Stuart Harbinson of Hong Kong, attempting to find agricultural solutions by March 31, issued a draft report last week that WTO players said was meant to provoke so-far uncompromising negotiators to begin to move.
It suggests phasing out export subsidies over six to nine years, reducing tariffs by an average 60 percent over the implementation period with at least a 45 percent cut for each commodity and sharp cuts in domestic subsidies.
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State trading enterprises such as the Canadian Wheat Board would face a phase-out of monopoly export powers, the ability to guarantee financing of export sales and the option of selling at less than domestic purchase prices.
After months of WTO discussions with little compromise by negotiators, Harbinson was “attempting to break the impasse,” a senior Canadian trade official said Feb. 17.
“It was intended to be contentious and it was received as such by many countries.”
It was received that way in Canada.
“If this paper was implemented, it would be a real blow for almost all agriculture sectors in Canada,” said Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen.
Agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief returned from a meeting of 23 WTO countries in Japan with a vow to stand by Canada’s opening position that increased export access must be balanced by the ability to maintain supply management and central desk selling.
“Canada is not moving one iota off our negotiating position and we’ve already said that to Mr. Harbinson,” Vanclief said Feb. 17.
“We are not compromising. No, we’re not.”
Meanwhile, Canada’s agriculture export lobby, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, insisted the Harbinson proposals are too biased in favour of protectionism and offer too little to exporters.
The split in Canadian industry reaction reflected the mixed reviews that greeted the Harbinson report during the Tokyo meeting of WTO trade and agriculture ministers.
The European Union called the position “unbalanced” in favour of countries more interested in unfettered exports than in a combination of exports and protection of import-sensitive sectors. Harbinson did not make mention of Europe’s demand that “non-trade” issues such as animal welfare and environmental standards be recognized in trade rules.
United States agriculture secretary Ann Veneman said the U.S. has “serious concerns” that the proposals are too timid in opening up markets.
The Canadian trade official said at a background briefing there is much compromise required before the March 31 deadline for an outline of an agricultural text.
If an agriculture agreement is not reached, the entire WTO negotiation could be derailed, he said.
