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Quality standards, farm support to stay: EU

The European Union on Tuesday expressed its inability to reduce quality standards for agri-exports or abandon farm subsidy and described India's approach in trade negotiations as two-track and counterproductive.

"While the EU's support for its farmers was in line with its multifunctionality approach and phyto-sanitary standards guaranteed safety for consumers, India was following a counter productive strategy of demanding reduction of tariff in developed countries and its increase in developing ones," EU's agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler said.

Speaking during an interactive meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, he said India wanted developed countries to reduce their domestic support, eliminate export subsidies and substantially reduce tariffs.

But at the same time it wanted the developing countries to be allowed to maintain or even increase tariffs as well as introduce export subsidies, he added.

This was a counterproductive negotiating position as trade gave incentive to improve productivity on both sides, he said, adding that trade barriers would isolate developing countries from world markets.

Moreover, level of development within the broad definition of "developing" varied quite considerably and so EU favoured a market access approach based on preferences with special and differential measures for developing countries, while there is reduction of subsidies by "all" parties, he added.

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