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McClure said 30 to 40 percent of what Ohio farmers raise goes to export market

by Lynn Snyder

U.S. farmers had high hopes for the fifth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, Sept. 10 to 14. The conference was an important midpoint in the Doha Development Agenda negotiations to lower global barriers in agriculture, goods and services trade.

In a statement, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said, "Agriculture, as you know, has been the lynchpin of these negotiations, but it was not the reason we did not reach consensus at this meeting."

After the talks ended, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said, "Whether developed or developing, there were 'can do' and 'won't do' countries here. The rhetoric of the 'won't do' overwhelmed the concerted efforts of the 'can do'. 'Won't do' led to impasse.

"The larger lesson of Cancun is that useful compromise among 148 countries requires a serious willingness to focus on work – not rhetoric – to attain the fine balance between ambition and flexibility."

Three Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) representatives joined participants from 146 member nations at the Cancun meeting. The group monitored the international trade talks, which hold extreme importance to Ohio farmers and the state’s economy.

OFBF President Terry McClure of Grover Hill, OFBF Board of Trustees member Jeff Zellers of Hartville, and Constance Jackson, OFBF vice president of agricultural ecology comprised the Ohio delegation.

McClure said the talks reached some tough points. "Developing countries are concerned about our trade coming in," he said. But as an example, he said India has a 116 percent tariff on imported goods and, "It’s hard for me to imagine that they can’t come down some."

He said he hoped Ohio farmers would care about trade issues because 30 to 40 percent of what they raise goes to export market.

After the talks, American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman issued the following statement:

"America's farmers are disappointed that world trade talks have hit a roadblock, but we hold out hope that the roadblock is temporary. It's important to note that the talks did not break down because of agricultural issues. Going in, America's farmers strongly indicated that we were willing to negotiate all matters during these world trade talks in Mexico. While we did put a full range of issues on the table, we regret that, for now, a worldwide consensus could not be reached.

"Our negotiators from the Trade Representative's Office and the Agriculture Department did a skillful job of representing the wishes of America's farmers and ranchers. We had indicated our strong willingness to reduce domestic supports and to negotiate improved market access. The entire world, especially developing countries, would have greatly benefited from a successful round. We insisted, however, that these talks had to be two-way negotiations.

"On the bright side, we did not sell ourselves short. We did not settle for a bad agreement. Now we all must step back, and after a so-called cooling off period, we will be eager and ready to support our negotiators if they choose to head back to the table for additional talks. The economic stability of our modern world has too much at stake to simply abandon these talks at a time when we were on the cusp of tremendous progress."

Caption: OFBF President Terry McClure, right, visits with Vermont Farm Bureau President Clark Hinsdale and U.S. Feed Grains Council’s Tim Burrack.