G.A.T.T. MEETING Further Attacks On Agricultural Protection

Press, Volume C, Issue 29685, 1 December 1961, Page 22

G.A.T.T. MEETING Further Attacks On Agricultural Protection

(N.Z. Press Assn.—CopjirijhO GENEVA, November 29. Big food-growing countries of the world had criticised European farm protectionist policies, the Associated Press said. Delegates from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States told the ministerial conference of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that their grain, meat and butter were being shut out of Western Europe and Britain by high tariffs.

The New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Marshall) called the arrangement “a vicious circle” which was hurting both the agricultural countries and industrialised consumers. He said New Zealand was getting less income from her products now than six years ago. As a result s.he could not buy as much from Europe as she used to. The European countries, Mr Marshall said, protected their farmers—who could not produce as cheaply as New Zealand—by high tariffs and subsidies. The citizen paid for both in higher food costs and in taxes. Mr Edward Gudeman, the United States Under-Secre-tary of Commerce, was concerned at “tendencies toward even increased agricultural protection.” “We hope in particular,” he said, “that the European Common Market, one of the world's greatest agricultural markets, will not adopt policies or measures insulating it from world markets in agricultural commodities.” He called for immediate work on opening up agricultural markets before tariffs and subsidies become “more deep-seated and entrenched.” Expense To Taxpayers The Australian Trade Department’s Deputy Secretary, Mr G. W. Smith, said that Europe was producing more and more food for itself and importing less and less. He said this was done by subsidising domestic farmers at tremendous expense to taxpayers. Mr Smith said the European market including Britain—had shrunk, leaving Australian butter, wool and mutton with greatly reduced outlets. The Canadian Minister of Trade and Commerce, Mr George Hees, also called for quick action to counter the “widespread, if not universal,

recourse to agricultural protection." Mr Hees also asserted that shutting out foreign competition caused high costs to consumers and inefficient production. He decried a world situation where there are “surplus products on the one hand and hunger on the other.” Reuter reported that the President of the British Board of Trade. Mr Frederick Erroll, said one fact brought out at the conference was that practically all countries felt the need to assist their farmers by special measures of one kind or another. Growing Surpluses He said Britain in the last year or two had had to pay increasing attention to growing agricultural surpluses in many parts of the world, and the tendency of these surpluses to flow to the United Kingdom, the largest and for some commodities, the only open market. Butter and barley were two instances. G.A.T.T., he said, should seize its opportunity to deal with longer-term issues “on the broadest international basis.” He said: “We accept the need, subject to our obligations to our producers, to seek to avoid levels of protection for basic agricultural products which are so high that they tend to discourage domestic consumption or create undue difficulties for low-cost producers elsewhere. “When we plan the level of our support arrangements, we take international considerations into account. For example, we have reduced the guaranteed price of wheat in four out of the last six years.”

"It is thus our own policy to aim to keep a balance in this matter.” he said. But he added: “However moderate we all of us aim to be in our support policies, we may well have to look forward—in- our part of the world as well as elsewhere—to increasing ejqpamsion of production. “if this happens, apart from any developments arising from our application to join the Common Market, changes in the trade pattern for some agricultural products may anyway become inevitable.” U.S. Proposals Conference sources said the United States proposals, circulated to delegations on Monday, for encouraging exports from less-developed countries included: (DA gradually-increasing share in markets for their industrial goods in the more highly industrialised countries. (2) Stabilisation of world prices for primary raw materials from less developed countries. (3) A system of preferences for the entry of tropical goods into the more industrialised countries. Australia’s representative said he supported the initiative of the French Finance Minister, who proposed a study group should meet early next year to examine organising world agricultural markets. France had proposed that there should be a two-tier system for the importation of agricultural produce to Europe. One tier should be for “rich” countries like Britain and New Zealand, and another for poorer or under-developed nations.