Brussels, 24/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - A study carried out by INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) for the European Commission has shown that by imposing an average 10.5% duty alone, the EU is by far the main importer of agricultural products from the world and the main importer of agricultural products from developing countries and less developed countries. INRA's study shows that EU imports are one and a half times more than those of the United States, twice as much as those of Japan and ten times more than Canada. Results show that around 60% of agricultural imports into the EU come from developing countries, against 40% only in the case of the three other countries of the Quad (US, Canada, Japan). The study also tends to demonstrate that the estimate by the US Department of Agriculture on the level of customs duties applied by the EU (30%) is false, mainly because it does not take into account the trade preferences that the EU grants to developing countries.
Figures concerning the developing countries are even more eloquent. According to INRA, even before the impact of the European "Everything but Arms" initiative, EU imports from these countries were twice as high as those of the United States, Japan and Canada together. Developing countries account for 3.2% of farm imports into the EU, as opposed to 0.7% for Japan, the United States and Canada.
According to Commissioner Franz Fischler, this study "makes a mockery of the criticisms regularly advanced by other developed countries - none of whom import anything like the volume or value of our imports from developing countries - that the EU is protectionist in its farm policy". He went on to add: "we will continue to work in the aptly named Doha Development Round negotiations to encourage others to offer equivalent access to the developing countries".