EU ‘conceding too much on agriculture’

THE European Union’s increased offer on tariff reductions in the world trade talks is conceding too much on agriculture, the umbrella body for co-ops in Ireland declared yesterday.

President of the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS), Padraig Gibbons, said the EU’s decision to offer tariff cuts of between 35% and 60% is likely to expose the agricultural sector to further cuts beyond the Luxembourg CAP reform agreement.

He said that for the milk and beef sectors, the EU offer increases the risk of a further CAP reform before 2013, unless the phased down of export refunds is over the longer term.