09/28/05 Ag Secretary on the Doha Round

Farm and Ranch September 28, 2005 Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is back from trade meetings in Paris with members of the European Union and he still hopes to see trade reform move ahead before the ministerial meeting of the WTO in Hong Kong in December. Johanns: "You know the challenge we are facing is we are running out of time. There's about ten weeks left before we go to Hong Kong. There is still a lot of work to be done. So I can just guarantee a lot of effort will be put into this." Johanns said the U.S. is in continuous discussion with the E.U. over subsidies however he said all members need to be at the table in order for a new trade agreement to succeed. The Senate Ag Committee recently held hearings on the WTO talks and the wheat industry submitted a letter to be included in the hearing record. That letter from U.S. Wheat Associates, the Wheat Export Trade Education Committee and the National Association of Wheat Growers focused on the need for the U.S. to address monopoly powers of the Canadian Wheat Board and the Australian Wheat Board Limited in any Doha Round agreement. The wheat organizations explained how the two monopolies distort international markets. Meanwhile, after a meeting with World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy Monday, Senate Ag Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss said he was encouraged that ag negotiations will produce draft modalities before the Hong Kong Ministerial. And due to what Chambliss called Lamy's keen understanding regarding the substance and politics of the trade negotiations, he is confident Lamy can help negotiators come to a successful conclusion. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.