EU Demands More Specifics From U.S. onEnding Farm Support to Save WTO Deal

[papau]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBA5Z3S4XD.html

EU Demands More Specifics From U.S. on Ending Farm Support to Save WTO Deal
By Paul Geitner
The Associated Press

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Under pressure from France not to give away the farm, the European Union's trade negotiator said Monday he was willing to scrap EU agricultural subsidies only if the United States gets more specific about its promise to follow suit.

"If we accept to zero export subsidies, we are making a big step forward," EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said before heading to the World Trade Organization talks.

"Zero is terribly precise ... and hence the necessity to match this with an equivalent level of effort by the others."

The EU made its offer last spring, and the United States has signaled readiness to scrap its own much smaller export subsidies and trade-distorting export credits. <snip>