The European Commissioner for agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, has indicated a fresh willingness to be flexible in protecting European food production to secure agreement at the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round.
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She said she would accept a “new blue box definition”, referring to the European Union’s (EU) key set aside agricultural subsidies. Here, she said Brussels could approve subsidy cuts regarding “some of the most trade-distorting measures”.
She repeated Brussels would offer to scrap all export subsidies, with refunds being abolished in three phases. The Dane also wanted a firm timetable for ending “all (trade distorting) statutory and regulatory privileges” enjoyed by state trading enterprises.