Brussels, 09/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - "It is important for Europeans to know that there can be no real progress on Doha if there is no real and satisfactory progress in international negotiations over agriculture", warned Canadian Minister of International trade Pierre Pettigrew, on a visit to Brussels on Thursday. "The Europeans want the Doha Round to be over end-2005, but for several members of the WTO it's unthinkable without real and substantial progress on agriculture", the Minister stipulated, citing his own country, all southern countries and the United States, which "makes many people". "I know that it's pressure on the Europeans, but … export subsidies are immediate distortions", he added.
Speaking to a few journalists on the occasion of a visit to Belgium, above all devoted to talks of a commercial nature in Antwerp, the Canadian Minister did not meet members of the European Commission. He nevertheless reiterated his country's commitment to concluding a bilateral agreement with the EU aimed at increasing trade and investment. On the occasion of the EU-Canada Summit of 19 December, Europeans and Canadians agreed to negotiate such an agreement, aimed at hedging against non-tariff obstacles. "The problem is not so much the existence of tariff barriers, which are very low, but non-tariff, regulatory barriers", explained Mr. Pettigrew. It is, for example, a question of the recognition of clinical trials and food safety, or even professional qualifications. The Canadian minister placed emphasis on the fact that such "an original agreement of the 21st century", concluded between the two partners, European and Canadian, would ricochet to the benefit the rest of the international community. The two sides have made a rendezvous for December 2003 to set the context and contents of negotiations, that may then begin.
Regarding access of the poorest countries to medicines, topic raised the same day before the press by Pascal Lamy (se p.7), Pierre Pettigrew regretted that the international community had "unfortunately not succeeded" in sticking to the commitment made in Doha of finding a solution by 31 December 2002. "A solution must be found, while respecting the rules of intellectual property", he stressed.