Posted on 10/25/2005 9:32:46 AM PDT by hedgetrimmer
Rich countries must abandon farm subsidies and give more market access to poor states if the Doha trade talks are to succeed, the head of the World Bank said today. Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz made his appeal amid fears that the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting of ministers in Hong Kong was in jeopardy because of the absence of progress on farm subsidies.
Writing in the Financial Times, Wolfowitz said the need to reduce protection on agriculture was a central element of the Doha talks. He warned that unless serious concessions were made by all sides, the Doha talks would fail "and the people who will suffer the most are the world's poor".
Wolfowitz, formerly a leading Pentagon official, called on the U.S. to step up efforts to cut farm subsidies and urged the European Union to do more on market access for products from poor countries. He added, however, that developing countries also had to open their services and manufacturing markets and lower their own agricultural protection.
Wolfowitz said it was not morally justifiable for rich countries to spend $280 billion (£158 billion) - nearly the total gross domestic product of Africa and four times the total amount of foreign aid - on support for agricultural producers.
The current round of WTO talks stalled in Geneva after wealthy countries failed to reach an agreement on lowering domestic agriculture subsidies and tariffs earlier this month.
Mark Vaile, the Australian trade minister and deputy prime minister, said the E.U. and "particularly France" were responsible for the deadlock because they had refused to accept a plan to cut European farm aid.
"They need to understand they are threatening the future of global trade and cheating millions of the world's poor out of new hope," Vaile said. "It's not enough for them to provide aid and debt relief when the benefits of liberalizing trade are so much greater."
An agreement in Hong Kong is supposed to pave the way for the conclusion of the Doha development round next year, but deadlock on farm subsidies has threatened to scupper the entire process.
The E.U. - generally seen as the villain of the piece by developing countries and the U.S. - is working on a second and final offer this week. The move follows what the U.S. described as its "bold" proposal for trimming the most damaging of its multi-billion dollar agricultural subsidies by up to 60% and phasing them out within a decade.
Development activists say the U.S. scheme is double-edged because it insists on poor countries opening up their manufacturing sectors, a step that could lead to the sectors' collapse in the face of foreign competition.
The U.S. plan has put the E.U. on the spot, and it has struggled to come up with a unified position. France believes the latest round of common agricultural policy reforms - which cut the link between the level of subsidy and the amount farmers produce - went far enough, and is refusing to budge.
The idea of cancelling the Hong Kong meeting has been proposed, but Australia has rejected it. "I don't believe the meeting should be postponed, even if the E.U. does not put forward a better proposal," Vaile said. "I believe the E.U. and France would need to account for their actions before the parliament of world opinion."
Wolfowitz increased pressure on the industrialized world when he said the temporary discomfort of industrialized countries in getting rid of farm subsidies was "nothing compared with the daily discomfort and deprivation faced by the world's poorest people".
Size will probably eliminate the instability as more farm factories come on the scene. Judging from the responses on this thread, we've probably seen the last of the family farm, except as tax shelters and growers of highly specialized products.
On the other hand, it's a very simple thing to save up enough food for an year. I could go out and buy a huge bag of rice and a bunch of beans for $10.
It is fair because they are already paid according to how much it costs to live in their own country.
The point is to buy the beans & rice -before- the hard times come, just as in the story of Joseph.
Most of us support ending SS, which means that people will have to save up for their own retirement. Much cheaper to save up one years' worth of food than to save for retirement. Costs maybe $300 for a nice basic variety, and if you don't feel like shopping, plenty of places sell an years' supply for $800.
Sure. Why not.
Once foreign grown coffee becomes extremely expensive, it would be profitable to develop ways to grow it at home.
It would create jobs in America.
And with a little luck and possibly bioengineering, our coffee might even taste as good.
If it doesn't, national independence and jobs are more important than foreign gourmet coffee beans.
How about oil? You want a tariff on Mexican oil because the cost of living is lower in Mexico? That'll teach those Mexicans to sell us oil. What will gasoline cost in your protectionist dream world?
Had we done that thirty years ago, we'd have half the population we have now because we wouldn't have enough oil to accommodate population growth from immigration.
And for any other petro shortfall, deal with it.
Develop wind power, solar power, clean coal power . . .
Or just simply conserve energy.
End runaway population growth from immigration, and remain independent of the rest of the world by not outgrowing our domestic resouces.
Meanwhile, trade with other countries is causing them to industrialize sooner and on a grander scale.
When the billions of people in developing countries start sucking up the world's oil with the money we paid them for cheap stuff--how much you think any leftover gasoline is gonna cost us?
Shouldn't all you "free traders" move there since the EU is the mecca? It being the first "free trade zone" established under the auspices of the global socialists.
You'll get scurvy if you don't have fresh fruit and vegetables.
I doubt that the factory farm guys would abandon some of the most fertile soil on the planet.
The real question is: Are family farms worth saving? I happen to think they are. I don't like to put all my eggs (or veggies) in one basket. However, it's doubtful that they will be saved. The efficiencies just aren't there and neither is the will of the general population.
They say it is morally wrong for us to keep our money for ourselves, and we must participate in global "poverty reduction".
I'll decode this for you: tens of millions of desperately poor people moving around the globe in search of a steady food supply and a square deal is very, very dangerous.
Nah, the beans and rice are meant to supplement in times of famine when oranges are still available, albeit at $10 per pound.
But, if you're going to go that far... Google says that Purina Monkey Chow is $11.25 per 25-pound bag. That has all the nutrition, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats humans will ever need.
Well, this thread hasn't been flooded by such requests, which means either that other people already know, or know how to find out. You are the only person here who claims "authority" on such matters while admitting you have no clue. So indulge yourself:
In WTO terminology, subsidies in general are identified by “boxes” which are given the colours of traffic lights: green (permitted), amber (slow down — i.e. be reduced), red (forbidden). In agriculture, things are, as usual, more complicated. The Agriculture Agreement has no red box, although domestic support exceeding the reduction commitment levels in the amber box is prohibited; and there is a blue box for subsidies that are tied to programmes that limit production. There are also exemptions for developing countries (sometimes called an “S&D box”, including provisions in Article 6.2 of the agreement).
Source
Did you know that they're building a mosque a day in certain parts of Africa? Many of these aren't friendly, smile as you walk by mosques, either. Africa and other parts of the developing world can't be allowed to drift into anarchy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.