End of farm export subsidies ‘years away’

THE draft deal at the world trade talks in Geneva last weekend is aimed mainly at eventually cutting subsidies and reducing barriers to the multi-billion euro global trade in farm goods.

But the initial euphoria over the agreement by the 147 member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has given way to more realistic assessments of what has actually been achieved and the timeframe for putting it in place.

The next WTO ministerial conference is not scheduled until December 2005 in Hong Kong and yesterday there were suggestions that a deadline for the total elimination of farm export subsidies is years away.