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Sugar Industry and International Trade News 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998
Attempts to launch a new "millennium round" of global trade talks failed last week in Seattle. Trade Ministers were unable to agree on several key elements, including agriculture, and a joint declaration launching a new round of WTO negotiations did not materialize. Going into Seattle, the EU had been seeking a comprehensive round dealing with agriculture, services, industrial goods, competition and investment, as well as labour and the environment. The EU needed gains in other areas to offset concessions in the agriculture-sensitive sector. The US, on the other hand, continued to insist on a narrow agenda. A group of 15 sugar producing countries representing 65% of the world's free market sugar exports are urging Trade Ministers to commit to serious reform of the global sugar market in the WTO. The Global Alliance for Sugar Trade Reform says that trade-distorting sugar policies in the US, EU and Japan impose an enormous cost on the world's efficient sugar producers, especially in developing countries where agriculture is the main source of employment. On September 14, the U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously to revoke a 19 year-old anti-dumping order affecting Rogers Sugar. The ITC voted 6-0 that there is no potential injury from refined sugar imported from Canada. They referred to the very small volume of Canadian exports that "represented approximately 0.1 percent of (U.S.) domestic consumption." This was despite the fact that sugar prices in Canada are far lower than U.S. prices according to the report. The ITC ruled that "imports from Canada are likely to have no discernable adverse impact on the domestic industry." On August 19, 1999, Canada released its initial position for the upcoming WTO agriculture negotiations. The position attempts to straddle a fine line between seeking "substantial improvements in market access" for Canada's value-added agri-food exports and maintaining protection for sensitive agricultural sectors. On June 10, 1999 the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade tabled its Report, "Canada and the Future of the World Trade Organization". The report is the outcome of an intensive hearings process initiated in February 1999, summarizing the views of over 400 witnesses heard in more than 30 public sessions. The report reflects the Committee's advice to the government in widely different areas of trade including agriculture, services, information technologies, competition policy and many other areas that are of concern to Canadians. Over the next few months, the consultation process to develop Canada's position for the next round of WTO agriculture negotiations will be completed. The process that began last fall with the Standing Committee on Agriculture's Take Note Hearings, continues and will conclude this summer when Federal/Provincial Agriculture Ministers meet in July to finalize Canada's opening position. The debate in Canada continues - how should Canada position itself in upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) agriculture negotiations set to begin in late 1999? At a series of "Take Note" hearings on the subject concluded in Ottawa late last year, a number of common messages emerged from "export oriented" groups. |
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