The export subsidies and domestic support given by developed countries to their agricultural sectors must be removed, according to a petition by The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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Philippines agriculture undersecretary Arsenio Balisacan presented the petition on behalf of the Asean members to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Committee on Agriculture in Geneva on Monday. An official statement to the same effect was released by the Philippines Department of Agriculture earlier today.
Asean members, who include the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, argue that export subsidies in the developing world allow those countries to dominate the world market. Developed countries’ subsidies to increase farm production are also attacked, for blocking the entry of developing world exports.
“We believe that the objective of the negotiations should be to level the playing field between those who can afford to subsidize agriculture and those who can ill afford it,” said Balisacan. The countries are specifically asking the WTO to eliminate and prohibit developing world export subsidies and improve market access for developing countries through the reduction in tariffs.
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