EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has said Europe will not make new moves to liberalise farm trade unless others offer concessions as well, according to the BBC.

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Mandelson was speaking five days after he discussed farm subsidies with US trade representative Rob Portman, the broadcaster said.


The US and Europe’s failure to reach agreement on agriculture is the main sticking point that has delayed a new worldwide trade deal.


World Trade Organization talks resume in Hong Kong in December.


The aim of the WTO’s Doha round of negotiations is to deliver a new global agreement on free trade by 2006, but the deadlock over agriculture has already set back the timetable.

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Mandelson told a business meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels that any accord reached in December would have to include “a strong component of agricultural liberalisation throughout the developed world”.


He said EU would do its share, but member nations “will simply not accept further first moves from the EU which are pocketed without parallel moves by others”.


He added that he was also “very concerned” that talks aimed at opening up the global market in services were “simply not delivering meaningful results”.


Mandelson is due to meet officials from the US, Brazil and India for further discussions in Paris on Friday.


He said the clock was ticking for the WTO meeting in Hong Kong, which is now just 10 weeks away.


Last week, president George W Bush repeated an earlier pledge that the US would abolish all trade tariffs if others did the same.


Bush and WTO director-general Pascal Lamy have called for the US and Europe to secure a deal by the end of the year.