Peter Mandelson, the European Union trade commissioner, said Nov. 11 that the Doha round of negotiations on trade liberalization (Dec. 13-18) in Hong Kong is likely to fail. “The problem,” he said, “is that whatever we offer is not enough for the highly competitive, very aggressive agricultural producers and exporters like Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.”

Mr. Mandelson should resist the protectionist calls from within the EU and embrace the ambitious proposals on agricultural trade liberalization as outlined by his American counterpart. The EU (as well as America) stand to gain a great deal from cutting and, eventually, eliminating their agricultural support programs............To Read More......