This article is from page 69 of the 2008-07-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
THE Irish Farmers Association last week warned Taoiseach Brian Cowen not to think about wavering from his commitment to use the Irish Govern- ment’s veto if a bad World Trade Or- ganisation deal is on the table.
Speaking last Thursday IFA Presi- dent Padraig Walshe said the deci- sion to proceed with this month’s WTO ministerial meeting was proof of Commissioner Peter Mandelson’s determination to “secure a deal at any cost”.
The IFA president said that his or- ganisation would be “maintaining its
constant vigilance” ahead of the July 21 meeting.
Meanwhile, Minister for Agricul- ture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, moved to calm farmers’ fears by speaking out against accepting a bad WTO deal.
Speaking in Luxembourg on Wednesday where he was attending the council of agriculture ministers meeting, he said that the set of WTO proposals on the table in Geneva at present were not balanced and there- fore not an appropriate basis for a o(cr-N Lm dev Rm a bE a Tos
The minister was speaking during discussions at the council, following
an update by Commissioner Fischer Boel on the current state of play of the Geneva negotiations.
‘We should not rush into a bad deal to facilitate the US administration while ignoring the very real chal- lenges ahead of food security and climate change,” he said.
‘We must ensure that we retain an agricultural production base in Eu- rope so that we can meet these new challenges both in the interests of the EU and of the world as a whole. We should not be afraid to say that we will not accept a bad deal and that we need more time to address these major issues.”
Minister Smith added that the world had moved on considerably since the Doha Round started in 2001. In particular, the current negotiations do not take account of the radically altered international landscape in relation to food security and climate change. He said the council should give itself the time required to reflect these important challenges in inter- national trade policy.
He also said that the passage of the farm bill, and the political debate in the United States, raised serious doubts about the capacity of the US administration to deliver and follow through on a deal at this time.