US Congress mulls Bill to reduce agri subsidies

In an effort to give better market access for agricultural exports from the least developed countries and to prevent developing nations from continuing with high tariffs, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is mulling tariff conversion procedures, according to Abdul Quader Shaikh, senior international economist from the US department of commerce.

Addressing a press conference, he said that WTO had recognised the dependence of developing and least developed countries on the export of commodities and the adverse impact of the long term decline and sharp fluctuation in their prices.

The bill which seeks to reduce agricultural subsidies, would be introduced in the US Congress.

The bill would also aim at providing duty-free and quota-free access to cotton from the least developed West African countries like Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali and Chad, popularly known as the four Cs, he added.

Commenting on the duty-free and quota-free market access for products from the least developed countries, Shaikh said that WTO requires such access for at least 97 per cent of the products as defined by the tariff schedule.

"The US had pressed for exceptions in duty-free and quota-free access for specific products that are already trading well in the global market," he said. He suggested that sugar was one possibility.

Shaikh added that the US imports a lot of agricultural products from all over the world and about 6,400 products, including farm produces, can be exported to US without any quota or duty.

Parallel to export subsidy elimination, the declaration also requires negotiated agreement on monopoly state trading enterprises such as grain marketing boards in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Shaikh added.