Clark welcomes WTO result but wants more progress

Helen Clark

Prime Minister Helen Clark today welcomed a World Trade Organisation deal on farm subsidies but said progress needed to continue.

Meeting in Hong Kong, ministers from 149 states saved the long-running global trade talks from collapse on Sunday with an interim deal to end farm export subsidies by 2013 and open rich-country markets a bit wider to the world's poorest nations.

Miss Clark said the agreement was good for New Zealand.

"New Zealand incorporated - farmers, government...everyone's worked for a good result for the Kiwi farmer and, as far as it goes, getting rid of export subsidies by 2013 that's an advance," she told TV One's Breakfast programme.

"However there's still the market access issue, and that's us getting our goods into other markets without high tariffs, and that's what's proving a bit tricky at the moment."

Trade Minister Jim Sutton also praised the result and said better access for poor countries was an undreamt of achievement.

"We've got agreement for duty-free, quota-free access for virtually all products from all of the world's 50 least developed countries into all the rich markets of the world," he told Newstalk ZB.

"That is something people have only dreamed of up until this time."

He was hopeful for the rest of the round of trade talks.

"There are 150 members and they are united in their desire to get a good outcome from this negotiation. There's a lot riding on it."

Miss Clark said timing it was vital to reach final agreement before 2007 when United States President George Bush's authority to fast track changes would get bogged down in domestic politics.

Dairy Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ) chairman Earl Rattray, who was in Hong Kong for much of the conference, welcomed the progress.

"Export subsidies have for decades been the single most trade distorting element in world trade - a deadly cancer for efficient exporters," he said.

"It is great to be able to look forward at last to a certain date when they will disappear."

While the EU and other subsidisers had already agreed in principle to their removal, they had previously refused to set a date.

Mr Rattray said the butter his Hong Kong hotel used was imported from France.

"As I ate my toast every morning I reflected that 60 per cent of the cost of every pat of that butter is currently an export subsidy".

Mr Sutton chimed in with other countries' criticism of the European Union for failing to make advances.

"Indeed if they had come up in good time with a decent offer of agricultural market access this round would be all but negotiated by now. But they have their political problems."

He was positive that change would happen.

"The winds of reform are blowing through Europe and through other protectionist countries in respect of agricultural trade and New Zealand stands to benefit very much from this trend."

The WTO ministerial meeting was called to head off collapse of the long-running Doha Round of trade liberalisation negotiations, aimed at eventually ending agricultural subsidies and removing tariffs.

Mr Rattray was disappointed at the lack of progress on the rest of the agenda, particularly market access.

"Market access is the heart of trade liberalisation. It was highly frustrating that despite spending a full week in negotiations Ministers made virtually no progress on the key remaining problem in agriculture in the Doha Round."

He was also hopeful the trade round could be completed before 2007.

"The Hong Kong meeting has showed once more just how hard these deals are to put together and how progress is often agonisingly slow. But we are making gradual progress over time, and from what I saw this week I am confident that WTO members will succeed in getting the whole Round over the line next year."

- NZPA