On the eve of the Hong Kong world trade talks, agriculture negotiations chair Crawford Falconer said in a report to the World Trade Organization that he sees common ground emerging on all three key pillars of the talks but there is much work still to do to close remaining gaps.
According to the New Zealander’s assessment, potential areas of agreement include:
- Creating three bands of cuts to domestic support in developed countries, with the largest cuts reserved for the highest subsidizers. Canada likely would qualify for the lowest band of cuts, between 31 percent and 70 percent.
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- An end date will be negotiated for export subsidies and there is an emerging consensus on rules required to keep state trade enterprises from distorting trade. “Fundamentally opposing positions remain, however, on the issue of the future use of monopoly powers.”
Significant differences remain in the debate over how to discipline food aid and concessional trade financing policies that can be used as disguised export subsidies.
- Market access tariff cuts will be made on the basis of “bands” that prescribe the greatest cuts for the highest tariffs. However, there has been no agreement in the sensitive products negotiations, an area that is Canada’s hope for maintaining supply management protections.
While some countries have rejected a blanket cap on tariffs, others have suggested no tariff should be left higher than 100 percent.
“The fundamental divergence over the basic approach to treatment of sensitive products needs to be resolved,” Falconer wrote. “Beyond that, there needs to be convergence on the consequential extent of liberalization for such products.”
