Mandelson: Most key WTO members agree with EU on trade proposals
25 Mar '06
3 min read
Europa announces the speech by EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson to European Parliament that a successful Doha Agreement remains possible if all players accept the need to come together in an ambitious final move that reflects the needs of all players. He argued: "the time of incremental steps, small moves and small concessions, is over".
On Brazil and India: "Brazil and India accept that this cannot be a Round for free for themselves, but their rhetoric does not, at present, match the contribution they need to make. This was highlighted in the discussion on industrial tariffs, where Brazil and India are reticent about adopting a sufficiently ambitious formula to secure cuts in applied tariffs across the board in advanced developing countries. Brazil, on the other hand, accepted that all parties would have to see some real cuts of tariffs in products of interest to them. This is an important, albeit so far unfulfilled, signal."
On the EU agriculture offer: "Most key WTO Members have now understood that Europe's agricultural offer of October 2005 has real value. However, certain Members continue to expect more from us on agricultural market access. As I have always said, we are ready to continue to play a constructive role in the Round, including on agriculture, but we need to see real cuts in industrial tariffs - at less than full reciprocity between developed and developing - and we need to preserve the Single Undertaking outside of agriculture and industrial goods.
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