European Union (EU) trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has been accused of stymieing the relaunch of the World Trade Organisation’s Doha Development Round by rejecting an Australian compromise proposal.
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The Australian plan suggested the EU agrees cutting its average food tariffs by 5%; the US slashes US$5bn from its food production subsidies; and developing countries also cut duties by 5%.
Speaking to the Australian Financial Review, Mandelson rejected the deal as “undoable” and overly pressuring EU producers. Australian trade minister Mark Vaile noted that neither the EU or the US “is willing to move to at this stage”, but this risked the talks never being restarted.
