The European Union (EU) has hit back in a highly undiplomatic trans-Atlantic row over whether it or the US is offering more concessions to boost the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round.
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A European Commission note said US Trade Representative criticism – reported in just-food.com – “seriously twists the truth about the value of the EU’s market access position” in the round’s food talks. The USTR said the EU offer “pales in comparison” with its own, protecting special EU production interests. The Commission however claims its proposal “cuts the highest tariffs the most” – by 60%, roughly halving its average food tariff to just 12%, matching US averages. “And the US routinely describes itself as the most open agricultural market in the world!”, sneered the Commission note.
