【有文稿】吃饭问题--WTO20年来最显著成果

MB: Well, as we heard in our report, one major breakthrough made at this meeting was the decision to abolish agricultural export subsidies, which leaders said would allow developing countries to better integrate themselves into the global market. So, in your opinion, how significant is this agreement, and why was there not such a rule in place before? DM: This is a highly politicized subject and it’s very important in terms of a very sensitive area in agriculture. This was the hardest topic at the WTO to come to any agreement on, and the fact that they made any progress is quite significant. It’s also very high value for the governments involved and for the economies and the producers themselves. The sector worldwide, well, it feeds the world, so there’s a lot at stake, a lot of politics, and the fact is that this is a very significant breakthrough. The reason there was no such rule before was, it’s just very difficult to do. LK: What’s holding the countries back? What are their worries, if they open more to other markets in the agricultural sector? DM: It’s not so much what the worries are. There are a lot of questions: why? How? And when? LK: Can you elaborate on that? DM: Some countries may be concerned about opening up quickly to allow their markets to adjust and their producers to be able to fit in. Some are worried about their level of development in terms of the ability for them to compete in the 21st century agricultural market. Do they have the kind of services available to them that will make their agricultural markets competitive? Do they have the kind of technology available that will allow them to grow the kind of crops that will be competitive in a global market? All of these questions are rather important when you want to join that club, when you want to open things up and allow the world to, basically, make its choices on a market based system. LK: Well, the US Trade Representative, Michael Froman, has lauded the move at this Kenya meeting as a turning point for the World Trade Organization. What does that mean? What is the turning about? DM: Well, your prior question really hit it; it’s agriculture. Agriculture has been a huge sticking point, a huge problem, for the WTO and making a deal and being able to move on agriculture is incredibly significant. It means that the organization has the ability to move forward.