UNGA 60
Second Committee
Statement by Dr Andrew Southcott, MP,
Parliamentary Advisor to the Australian Delegation,
on behalf of the Cairns Group
International Trade and Development
31 October 2005
Mr Chairman
I have the honour today to speak on behalf of the Cairns Group of agricultural trading countries, namely Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, Thailand, South Africa and Uruguay.
The Doha Round is drawing towards a critical juncture, and leaders must now act to seize the opportunity to bring the negotiations to a close in a manner consistent with the mandate. Distortions in world agricultural markets continue to undermine the ability of many developing countries’ agricultural sectors to contribute to sustained economic development and poverty alleviation. The Cairns Group is committed to achieving a substantial reform of the agricultural trading system through the WTO Doha Development Round of negotiations. Earlier this year, we urged the G8 Leaders Meeting to consider elimination of trade distorting barriers and opening markets as a means for developing countries to unlock the full potential of their agriculture sectors.
Mr Chairman
The Cairns Group welcomes the progress that has been made in breaking the deadlock in the agriculture negotiations this year. With only a few weeks before the 6th WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong, it is crucial that governments show the leadership needed to agree on key elements of a package.
To achieve our objectives at Hong Kong, Members will need to agree to:
• a date for eliminating all forms of export subsidies on all products;
• a blue-print for achieving substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support, particularly that provided by the major subsidising countries;
• a detailed plan on how substantial improvements in market access for all products will be delivered; and
• effective mechanisms with respect to key elements of Special and Differential Treatment, recognising the particular needs of developing countries.
As the Cairns Group has consistently emphasised over the years, deep reform to global agricultural trade is crucial to unlocking the full potential of the agricultural sectors of developing countries. The Doha Mandate calls on the industrial countries which are the major subsidisers to make the greatest contribution to this reform effort. The Cairns Group recognises that all countries should make a contribution, because agricultural liberalisation has benefits for all. Numerous studies have shown that the global welfare gains of agricultural trade reform would amount to hundreds of billions of dollars of welfare gains annually, and that the majority of these gains would accrue to developing countries. As the Secretary General of the United Nations has argued, one of the best ways to assist the poor is to provide a genuinely free and fair trading system that allows the poor to trade themselves out of poverty. In addition to the broader economic gains this would bring, agricultural trade reform would also contribute strongly to alleviating poverty, advancing food security and promoting economic growth and higher living standards.
I thank you