Britain to push for sugar reform

BRITAIN has pledged to use its presidency of the EU from July to strive for a political agreement to reform the sugar regime before a WTO conference in Hong Kong in December.

Margaret Beckett, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister in the Blair Government, told a conference in London the unreformed EU sugar regime epitomises the worst effects of all three forms of trade-distorting support.

She described these as market prices three times the world level, import tariffs and quota-stifling competition and export refunds undermining many developing-country markets.