MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

G-20 insists with elimination of farm subsidies.

The Group of 20, or G-20, insisted this weekend in Sao Paulo that rich countries reduce farm subsidies and comply with the World Trade Organization, WTO agriculture market liberalization proposal

"We must advance in three pillars, the elimination of agriculture subsidies, reduction of domestic subsidies and market access", said Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Amorim in Sao Paulo following a G-20 meeting where the group reviewed the agriculture proposals put forward by WTO.

G-20 leaders are India and Brazil, but originally were founded by twenty country members including China, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Philippines, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Venezuela, among others.

G-20 will be sitting for another round of informal trade talks with United States, the European Union and Australia. The agriculture issue has been stalled since the failure of the Cancún WTO ministerial meeting held in Mexico last year, when G-20 was created to reject the farm liberalization proposal advanced by the US and EU.

"The rejected Cancun proposal would have perpetuated inequity and farm trade distortions", emphasized Mr. Celso Amorim.

Argentina's Trade Representative Martin Redrado said one of the merits of the G-20 proposal was the single focus for the agriculture proposal. "We're trying to define concepts that can lead us to an acceptable formula for all sides involved in the WTO talks and in the framework of WTO proposals", since "it's not a matter of changing details so all remains the same".

Indian Trade Minister Kamal Nath said the G-20 proposal was "acceptable" because it addresses the complexity of the economic situation, since agriculture is not always profitable. "In India, agriculture is a way of life", said Mr. Nath who admitted that to reach an agreement in agriculture "we'll have to make concessions as we have done in market access".

In this Monday's meeting G-20 representatives will be meeting with US and EU heavy weights, Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Trade Commissar Pascal Lamy.

The informal talks are in the framework of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development which this Monday inaugurates the XI session in Sao Paulo, Brazil with the participation of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.