MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

France demands from US reciprocity in farm subsidies cuts

France's agriculture minister said Thursday Europe's farming sector is a “strategic” industry that has already been significantly overhauled and called for no further unilateral concessions in the global free trade negotiations.

Christine Lagarde said that when in 2005 France agreed to a planned 2008-2009 review of EU farm and other spending it did so believing any resulting benefit cuts for farmers would be delayed until after 2013. "Until 2013, the financing of (EU) agriculture cannot be called into doubt," she told reporters after meeting with Peter Mandelson and Mariann Fischer Boell, the EU trade and agriculture commissioners, respectively. Lagarde reiterated the French view that in the deadlocked world trade talks, the EU must not offer more cuts in farm subsidies without any concessions by the United States and others in return. "Such reciprocity is imperative. We will not see a breakthrough in global trade talks until we see exact figures from the United States that show reciprocity and balance" she insisted. Spending on agricultural subsidies is holding up a deal in the current round of negotiations in the World Trade Organization. France has long objected to opening up more of Europe's agriculture market to cheaper imports, notably from India, Brazil and the United States, fearing such a move would damage its agricultural sector. EU spokesman Michael Mann said Lagarde "gave the French view ... and we agree. We need to see more from the US on reforming their domestic farm payments and more realism from the US on tariff cuts." The 27-nation EU farm spending has been through major reforms: agriculture accounted for 65% of all EU spending in 1990 and in 2006, 40% of an annual budget of 151 billion US dollars and should drop 35% by 2013. U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab is scheduled to meet with EU officials later this week in Brussels, and with Brazilian officials in London, in an effort to accelerate the global trade negotiations. Lagarde's comments were closely followed confirming that under President Nicolas Sarkozy France continues to be an ardent defender of its farmers, the main beneficiaries of EU agriculture spending and who wield significant political clout.