Time for Leadership on Trade Reform

Strong political leadership is all that is needed to reach an international agreement to cut tariffs and subsidies on farm products, the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, said today.

Mr Vaile was addressing the Cairns Group Farm Leaders today, ahead of the Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting in Cairns, Australia, this week. The Cairns Group consists of 18 developed and developing countries that export farm products. The Group is fighting to reduce farm tariffs and subsidies through the Doha Round of international trade negotiations.

Mr Vaile released a new report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), which models the effects of ambitious agricultural trade reform for the Cairns Group countries.

"ABARE concludes that it would increase the total agricultural exports of the Cairns Group by US$20 billion in 2016, compared to our exports if the existing trade restrictions continued. The big winners would be the developing countries in the group, whose rural poor would at last have a chance to get ahead," Mr Vaile said.

"The report highlights why we need to be ambitious, and why we need to inspire the world to greater leadership.

"The politicians of Japan, the United States, Europe and other countries with high levels of support and protection for agriculture need to look beyond the special pleadings of their farm lobby groups and stand up for their consumers.

"They need to get back to the negotiating table and help us achieve an ambitious result on agriculture. They need to understand that the rest of the world will not sign up to a deal that does not free up agriculture.

"To get a deal, the European Union will need to take a more ambitious approach on its tariff cutting formula and on sensitive products. The United States will also need to show more flexibility on domestic support. For our part, the Cairns Group will need to keep pressing the majors to show the leadership that is required. We also have contributions to make on development issues," Mr Vaile said.

The members of the Cairns Group are: Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Uruguay.

Contact: Mr Vaile's Office 02 6277 7420, Departmental 02 6261 1555