NCGA Looks for Action in Hong Kong Trade Talks (11-29-05)

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is looking forward to the trade negotiations on Dec. 13 in Hong Kong where corn growers are hopeful action will be taken by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on reducing tariffs and creating equal market access.

NCGA President Gerald Tumbleson noted growers are hoping for a successful outcome at the Hong Kong ministerial. “We are certainly looking for a successful outcome during the agricultural talks,” he said. “We are very concerned with market access. We see an ambitious market access package as being the key to a successful agreement for U.S. producers and the single greatest goal of the U.S. in the Doha agricultural negotiations.”

Tumbleson also noted it is an unfair practice when tariffs imposed by other countries are higher than the U.S. tariffs, which are among the lowest in the world. He said high tariffs have been a hindrance for U.S. agricultural products entering new markets, in addition to the already established markets.

The United States this week sent negotiators to Geneva to participate in meetings with other negotiators and ministers to explore the possibility of making further progress before the trade talks in Hong Kong. According to reports, U.S. negotiators expect discussions of agriculture to focus on two issues – the end date for phasing out export subsidies and market access.

June Silverberg, NCGA director of public policy said she believes most agriculture groups will be monitoring closely the progress being made during the talks, citing that real gains need to be made on several issues.

“We need to see real gains being made during the talks in Hong Kong on market access and export subsidy elimination,” she said. “The U.S. has been very aggressive in pushing hard for ambitious market access language, as well as the elimination of export subsidies and substantial reduction in trade-distorting support in competitor countries.”

Last week, Crawford Falconer, chairman of the WTO's Doha Round Agriculture Committee, released a report on the current status of trade negotiations. That report urged “greater dedication to the task at hand while also recognizing that agreement on negotiating modalities will not be achieved on time.”

According to the U.S.T.R., the U.S. is hoping to use the Hong Kong meeting to make as much progress on negotiations as possible.