Franz Fischler, "EU prepared to make comprehensive agriculture agreement"
The convention centre in Seattle in Washington due to hold the World Trade Organisation talks has been closed because of a security scare. Police said they believed someone may have entered the building. Protestors have vowed to shut down the talks.
More than 5,000 delegates from the World Trade Organisation are due to meet in Seattle to agree an agenda for a new round of multilateral trade talks next year. The four-day session starts tomorrow and is aimed at establishing the basis for global trade relations in the next millennium. Thousands of protestors against the organisation are expected to picket the conference.
Demands for the EU to scrap farm export subsidies will be one of the major areas of confrontation. The United States and major agricultural exporting nations want the European Union to scrap farm export subsidies. Yesterday, EU agricultural commissioner, Franz Fischler, said that the EU was prepared to make a comprehensive agreement on agriculture.
Other areas of contention are US and EU initiatives to add minimum labour standards and environmental protection to the conference agenda, which many developing countries will oppose. If ministers succeed in resolving areas of dispute, a three-year round of negotiations would follow, aimed at reducing tariffs and other trade barriers.
