Media Release

Friday, 5 September 2003 - MVT72/2003

Cancun – Ambition For Agriculture The Key

Next week’s World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico, is an important moment in the push for agriculture trade reform and a test of the ambition all WTO members mandated at the launch of the Doha round, Trade Minister Mark Vaile said today.

Mr Vaile will visit Cancun from 7-17 September to represent Australia at the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference. The meeting will set the direction for the next stage of the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations launched at the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.

“The Doha round must deliver significant gains to Australian exporters and I will be fighting hard to secure a better deal for Australian farmers, manufacturers and services exporters,” Mr Vaile said, adding agriculture would be the key issue at Cancun.

“Two years on from Doha, we are worried that some countries wish to back down from the ambitious approach we set for ourselves, and want to introduce unacceptable new forms of protection, such as restrictions on the use of geographical names for food products,” Mr Vaile said.

Mr Vaile emphasised that Australia and the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries would not be stepping away from the strong Doha mandate for agricultural reform, which demands substantial improvements in market access, reductions with a view to phasing out export subsidies, and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support.

Mr Vaile said that a paper that had been submitted to ministers by the Chair of the General Council, Carlos Perez del Castillo, would require major and substantial improvements for it to meet the Doha mandate.

“In Cancun, I will make it clear that we will not back down on our ambitious approach to achieving world trade reform and I will be seeking the same commitment from other Ministers attending the conference. “

Mr Vaile will be accompanied to Cancun by members of the WTO advisory group, representatives of Australian industry, as well as a parliamentary delegation. He will also chair a meeting of the Cairns Group just prior to the ministerial conference.

Mr Vaile said that he also looked forward to liaison with the new G20 group, which included several Cairns Group members and had adopted many agriculture reform positions long advocated by the Cairns Group.

Contact:  Matthew Doman  02 6277 7420