MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Agriculture negotiations remain “unchanged”

Mercosur officially expressed concern over the lack of progress in the agriculture trade talks with United States and the European Union given the coming World Trade Organization ministerial meeting scheduled for September 10/14 in Mexico.

Uruguay, that holds Mercosur's chair during the second half of 2003 highlighted that the main purpose of the extraordinary summit held in Asunción, Paraguay over the weekend was to review the US and EU documents on agriculture.

"Heads of State acknowledging the latest initiatives presented by the main trade partners in Geneva, in the framework of the agriculture negotiations, recognize that those initiatives do not constitute sufficient foundation for the success of the coming Cancún ministerial meeting", said Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle.

Mr. Batlle stressed that "positions must reflect both sides interests in a fair and balanced way", and that US and EU are moving away from that middle point, therefore Mercosur has decided to continue searching for "transparent, balanced and substantial alternatives".

Three are the main concerns: internal aid, export subsidies and market access, according to the official Mercosur release stamped by the presidents of the four full members and the two associate members. (With the exception of president Nestor Kirchner who had to return to Buenos Aires and was replaced by Foreign Affairs Minister Rafael Bielsa).

"The WTO Doha round is a historic opportunity to correct the enormous distortions that today characterize world agriculture trade, particularly detrimental for developing countries, for which agriculture is one of their main sources of exports".

Further on, the Mercosur extraordinary summit release "takes notice" of the Brazilian "Objective 2006" initiative (an integrated South American continent) and of the Argentine proposal for the creation of a regional Monetary Institute.

The ever present request of a Justice Tribunal was reiterated and the creation of a Mercosur Parliament will be analyzed by the regional Parliamentary Committee.

Mercosur presidents pointed out the need for a greater active contribution from the Joint Parliamentary Committee in the "legislative harmonization process and with the incorporation of Mercosur rules".

The extraordinary summit in Asunción coincided with the taking office of Paraguay's newly elected president Nicanor Duarte.