Media Release

Annan Right on Need for Trade Reform

Trade Minister Mark Vaile today welcomed and strongly endorsed the call of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan for G8 leaders to confront distortions in trade in agricultural products.

" G8 leaders must address the key issue facing the developing world, namely the lack of access to the food markets of rich nations," Mr Vaile said.

In his letter to G8 leaders, Secretary General Annan emphasised that action on the critical problems faced by Africa required that the distortions to trade in agricultural products be confronted.

Mr Vaile said that protectionism and domestic support in developed countries severely hurt poor countries who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

" We can't allow the situation to continue where developed countries spend US$320 billion a year on their own farmers, over six times the total spending on aid and double the value of developing country exports" Mr Vaile said.

" This is why Kofi Annan is 100 per cent correct when he says that the importance of addressing the distortions in global markets can scarcely be exaggerated, and why I join him in calling on G8 leaders to ensure that the promise of the Doha Development agenda is fully realised."

Mr Vaile noted that less than four months from the 5th WTO Ministerial, to be held in Cancun, Mexico, negotiations to reform world agricultural trade were still deadlocked.

" G8 leaders must recommit the major developed countries to the Doha negotiations and to the objective we all agreed at Doha for substantial reform of world agricultural trade. This does not mean piecemeal or symbolic gestures, or a continuation of the current distortionary and inefficient preferential access arrangements, but real reform that will provide real market access improvements for all of the developing countries," Mr Vaile said.

Mr Vaile said that Australia and its Cairns Group colleagues would continue to press for substantial outcomes from the WTO Doha agriculture negotiations.