Developed countries will have to give much more than they receive in world agricultural trade talks if they expect developing nations to endorse a deal, the blunt-talking representative of a developing world trade-negotiating bloc told a Dec. 8 conference on stalled World Trade Organization talks.
Brazilian ambassador to Canada Carneiro Leao said “balance” in the final deal will come through greater concessions by developing countries in areas other than agriculture.
“There is no way we can have a balanced result if we look at agriculture alone,” he told a group at a grain industry symposium organized by Grain Growers of Canada and the Canada Grains Council.
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“We will only make progress if the major exporting countries make the necessary concessions. There is no possibility of balanced concessions in agriculture because there is one side of the table that subsidizes heavily and is responsible for the main market distortions.”
Brazil is the leader of the G-20, a group of developing countries that formed a coalition at WTO talks in Mexico in September to demand rich country subsidy and protection compromises while insisting that developing countries have little to give and cause little of the problem.
Developed countries insisted that developing countries must make some concessions by opening their markets to imports. Those demands were reiterated at the Ottawa conference by ambassadors from the European Union and Australia.
“We agree that developed countries must do more but we believe the developing countries also must be prepared to move,” said Eric Hayes, head of the European Commission delegation in Ottawa. “It can’t be just one sided.”
Later, the chair of a pro-trade liberalization think-tank in Washington referred to a World Bank study that suggested trade barriers between developing countries are a bigger problem than trade barriers between developed and developing countries.
Still, Robert Thompson, chair of the International Food and Agriculture Trade Policy Council, said rich countries should not underestimate the determination of developing countries to get something substantial from the talks.
“To be frank, they are the majority of WTO members and there will be no agreement without them,” he said.
Ambassador Leao reinforced the point. He said before the G-20 was formed, it was assumed that if the big players reached a deal, the rest of the world would sign on in relief.
“That is no longer true,” he said.
However, by talking about Brazil’s incredible agricultural progress in recent years, Leao also exposed a basic question: what qualifies as a developing country?
Brazil has become one of the world’s leading soybean, meat, sugar and coffee producers and exporters.
Ted Menzies, vice-president of Grain Growers of Canada, told the Brazilian ambassador that when looking at Brazil’s numbers, which often far outpace Canada’s, perhaps Canada should apply to join the G-20.
Leao said Brazil is competitive in some commodities and less so in others but it remains a developing country.
“And of course, Canada is welcome to join in the G-20,” he said to laughter.
