Brussels, 22/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 17 July, the European (COPA-COGECA) and Japanese (JA Zenchu) farmers published a joint statement calling on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to “promote sustainable agriculture and adopt a sensible approach to agriculture, which takes non-trade concerns into account”.
According to the statement, “current bilateral trade negotiations between the EU and Japan represent a unique opportunity to jointly defend these common values and reintroduce them into the Doha Development Agenda” (negotiations ongoing within the WTO since 2001).
COPA-COGECA and its Japanese counterpart also stress that “administrative procedures relating to the agri-food trade should be simplified in order to ensure that small and medium-sized agri-cooperatives from both sides can benefit from the trade agreement”. (LC)