EU offers to cut farming tariffs

[T_i_B]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4385156.stm

Europe has offered to cut the tariffs it charges on farm goods by up to 60%.

The European Commission said it was doubling its average cut to about 47%, as negotiators seek to prevent a new world trade deal collapsing.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson had considered larger cuts ahead of a last-ditch December summit, but France warned he was exceeding his mandate.

WTO head Pascal Lamy last week called on both the US and EU to make concessions. But while each side accepts that cutting farm subsidies and tariffs is vital in order to increase access for food exports from the developing world, both Washington and Brussels face pressure from their own agricultural sectors.

[Henny Penny]

1. I think you'll find that this kind of offer could only be made by the EU

under a British presidency.

Why does the Blair govt look more and more like Bush's trojan horse every day??

Who goes into trade negotiations going..."Here, take all we got..." before the other lot have even opened their mouths!



:evilfrown:

[tritsofme]

3. Why should the EU monetarily support rich French farmers?

And artificially manipulate prices when Africans are starving and their farms failing?

[I_am_Spartacus]

8. Because the EU represents France and not Africa.

That's why an EU with a narrow view of its best interests would not do this. But thanks to Gordon Brown and Tony Blair's committment to eliminating poverty around the world (because they don't think narrowly about best interests for EU citizens) they are considering the interests of citizens of African nations.

[Henny Penny]

12. Wow! What saints they are!!!

:puke: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

reality check!

It costs Britain very little to screw the rural communities.... their service based eccony doesn't need agriculture and the farming types are all Tories or Lib Dems.

And Tone can say to what remains of the Labour left.. "Look guys! Forget the mess we've made of everything else...we're gonna save Africa!"

[I_am_Spartacus]

13. There is profit in an impoverished Africa

and there's profit in an Africa with a wealthy middle class.

If you represent the Arms dealers and agricultural companies and minining companies, like the tories did, you'd probably want an impoverished Africa.

But if you're trying to sell cell phones and whatever, you'd probably want a wealthy, democratic, developed Africa.

[Stella_Artois]

5. I don't think Bush has anything to do with this

This idea is common sense, and will help exporters in developing countries. Hardly something that screams "Republican ideas !!"

[Henny Penny]

6. The playing field needs to be leveled for African agriculture,

without question. My point was that you do not make an opening gambit like this in sensitive negotiations unless you wish to please the more naive of your supporters whilst simultaneously pissing off those whom you are supposedly negotiating on behalf of.

Agriculture is not something the UK admin cares too much about, look at bse, foot and mouth etc and I really don't think the lab govt can be genuinely interested in getting the result we all want if they go about it like this!

Looks more like yet another attempt to deepen the UK/US and "Old Europe" rift. And this from the man who would put Britain "at the heart of Europe"!

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. So what do you think Mandelson should be saying?

Or is it that he shouldn't be saying anything, but putting pressure on the EU governments to back him up when they go to Hong Kong?

[Henny Penny]

9. I think what he should be saying, should be said

behind closed doors. What he has done just looks like he's thumbing his nose at the French.

I would really like to see the iniquities present in world trade eliminated. Perhaps my cynicism about new labour makes me feel that Mandelson is just trying to get publicty for them, rather than a deal for Africa.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. But this is just the Commission

Here's the important sentence: "Friday's new proposal still could fall foul of internal rifts, since France has vowed to block further concessions."

If France can veto this, its chances of happening must be minute. What concession to France would have to be made? Would the rest of Europe be willing to bribe France to accept it? I doubt it.

But this gives Mandelson a nice headline, and makes it look as if they're going into the Hong Kong talks in December with a reasonable negotiating position. And he can then blame France for being intransigent.

[AngryAmish]

4. This is good for developing countries

Now if we can get our own ass in gear on this it will help the world.

[rfkrfk]

10. France seems to get a special deal with agriculture, why is that?

France, agricultural subsidies,
Britain, rebate,
Mediteraniam countries, susidies to gov'ts,
Netherlands got screwed,

How do they decide these things?

[Henny Penny]

11. Every country gets some kind of special deal regarding one or other

agricultural product, but the better organised the farmers the more political clout they have. France's farmers are by far the best organised and willing to take action to protect their interests.

How did the Dutch get screwed?

[rfkrfk]

14. my comment is based on ...

the following: greneral reading, conversations on
the internet - with a handfull of people that claim
to live in the Netherlands, and the fact that the
EU constitional treaty lost by sixty percent...

the common complaints are,
the Dutch got a bad deal on the
'old currency to Euro' conversion,
savings and pensions were devalued, and

taxes were raised, and the money goes to
our competitors in other countries, and

the Netherlands has the highest {because of the EU}
net negative cash flow, per capita,

we just don't like these other people...

my comments,
Dutch people, who can speak-write in English,
would likely be more 'Anglo-America' friendly than most,
although 'free trade - single currency' might mean lower
prices in theory, that is not seen when prices go up for
other reasons, and,
comercial standardization did not help the Dutch so much,
because the Dutch were in the middle of the 'common market'
for a long time, anyway, and
Europeanification, a lesser version of globalization -->
there are going to be winners and loosers

[Henny Penny]

15. "We just don't like these other people"???

Are you sure you're on the right board here??? Or are you merely quoting others?

the Dutch got a bad deal on the
'old currency to Euro' conversion,
savings and pensions were devalued,

That bad deal was negotiated by Dutch politicians on behalf of the Dutch!
Savings and pensions have been devalued everywhere thanks to the collapse in share prices. Ultimately the financing of the massive US debt has led to the devaluation of every fiat currency on the planet, including the Euro.

Can't comment on your negative cash flow as I don't know anything about it, but perhaps you ought to start by looking at your manufacturing sector.

And as for We just don't like these people- a frightening piece of ill-disguised racism! Look to your own house before you start scapegoating others.

[rfkrfk]

16. clarification ...

What follows are not my feelings,
they are what I perceive to be the feelings of others,
specifically, a few Dutch.

..................
'we don't like these people', maybe should be restated as,
'we are not like these other people, we don't want to be in the same country, for amoung other reasons, we don't want our pensions
mixed in with the pensions of people who essentially
don't have pensions now.

..................
about the Gilder-Euro conversion,
THEY think their politicians sold them out.

concerning 'negative cash flow', let me clarify.
I am writing about Netherlands' contributions to the EU,
compared to EU expenditures in the Neth.
Neth EU cotributions exceeds EU {in Neth} expenditures,
by the highest amount 'per capita', than any other EU country.
If you are interested, I'll try to find numbers on that.

Ciao

[Orrin_73]

17. How arrogant!!

One set of rules for the French and a different for the rest of EU.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. It's not a different set of rules

It's just that France has a large agricultural sector that benefits the most from the agricultural subsidies.

2004 'budgetary balances' of the old 'EU 15' as % of Gross National Income (-ve means net beneficiary):

Netherlands 0.44%
Luxembourg 0.41%
Sweden 0.38%
Germany 0.33%
Italy 0.22%
Belgium 0.19%
France 0.19%
UK 0.16%
Austria 0.16%
Denmark 0.12%
Finland 0.05%
Spain -1.08%
Ireland -1.30%
Portugal -2.37%
Greece -2.52%

Source