U.S. proposes ambitious agricultural trade liberalization plan

U.S. proposes ambitious agricultural trade liberalization plan    The United States presented an ambitious agricultural trade liberalization plan Monday to press the World Trade Organization’s Doha Development Plan forward.
   “Our ambitious initiative demonstrates a seriousness of purpose,” said U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman in a statement from Zurich. “The United States is committed to breaking the deadlock in multilateral talks on agriculture, and unleashing the full potential of the Doha Round.”
   He added” “We are ready to make meaningful changes to American farm programs, provided our trading partners deliver tangible market access for U.S. agricultural exports, and our offer is also met by substantial reductions in trade-distorting measures, with deeper cuts by the biggest subsidizers.”
   The upcoming WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong is now nine weeks away.
   In the first stage of the U.S. plan, WTO members would phase in deep cuts in trade distorting supports and tariffs, creating market access opportunities and reforms of subsidy policies. After a period of consolidation, an additional phase-out period would deliver the elimination of remaining trade-distorting practices in agriculture.
   On food aid, the U.S. plan would offer “broad discretion for donors to meet needs in emergency situations and low income countries, tighter disciplines to deal with other situations, but no requirement for ‘cash-only.’ “