WTO members condemn US recovery of dairy export subsidies

Xinhua Geneva, May 27 (reporter Liu Guoyuan) The World Trade Organization Doha round of the two major interest groups "coordination Group" and "Keynes Group" respectively 26th and 27th in Geneva issued a statement condemning the United States recently made a decision to restore export subsidies for dairy products. In a statement by the "20-nation Coordination Group", which is comprised of WTO members, such as Brazil, India and China, the USDA announced the resumption of export subsidies for dairy products, suggesting that the momentum of "hidden protectionism" is rising.　　While this measure does not directly violate WTO rules, it is likely to weaken the multilateral trading system maintained by the WTO in the current economic crisis. The statement said that protectionism does not simply mean raising tariffs or restricting imports, but also government interventions such as subsidies, which artificially create unfair competition between foreign companies and their domestic firms.　　America's export subsidy for dairy products is clearly damaging to the interests of farmers in developing countries. The statement said it was disturbing that the European Union had adopted similar measures to revive agricultural export subsidies before the US decided to resume export subsidies for dairy products.　　If other WTO-developed members follow the example of the US and Europe, this will undoubtedly worsen the world economic situation and further increase the difficulties faced by developing countries. The statement urged the US and Europe to lift the export subsidy measures in order to play a leading role in the global agricultural reform process.　　The statement also stressed the importance of completing the Doha round of trade negotiations, and believed that the only way to solve the distortion of world agricultural trade. In a separate statement, the "Keynes Group", comprising 19 agricultural exporters, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Argentina, South Africa and Indonesia, said it was "extremely disappointed" by the US's approach to the EU's recovery of dairy export subsidies.　　The statement said that while U.S. and European export subsidies do not exceed the cap set by the WTO, it would obviously weaken the effectiveness of the WTO system if other members followed the US-Europe precedent by raising tariffs and export subsidies in the direction of the ceiling. The statement urged the US and Europe to re-examine the relevant decisions and seek to remove the export subsidy measures in the shortest possible time to help restore confidence in the agricultural market.