Turner Suggests Solution to Doha Subsidy Deadlock
Ted Turner tells WTO that Doha Round talks must go on, proposes biofuel production as an alternative to agricultural subsidies.
Compiled by staff
Published: Sep 25, 2006
With Doha Round talks stalled over the issue of agricultural subsidies, United Nations Foundation Chairman Ted Turner spoke in front of the World Trade Organization Public Forum in Geneva to encourage the WTO to resume negotiations. Turner proposed more use of agricultural resources towards producing biofuels as a way of ending the Doha Round deadlock.
"The global demand for biofuels is huge and rising," Turner said. "That's why I'm confident that in the near future, farmers' incomes will be assured, not by subsidies and tariffs, but by market forces."
Turner appealed to developing countries to reduce tariffs and open their markets, and he told developed countries to shift their agricultural focus. "Developed countries should agree to phase out tariffs and reduce their subsidies for food and fiber crops and replace them with support for biofuels."
Developing countries can also benefit greatly from investing in biofuels, Turner said. Making this shift would allow them to be less dependent on imported fuels, "create new jobs in the rural economy, and ultimately, build export markets."
Turner also touted biofuels' environmental advantages, as they are renewable and would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. His immediate request, however, was that negotiators take up the Doha Round once again.
"There is nothing we could do that would strike a quicker, wider blow against global poverty. If you're against poverty, you're for a strong Doha agreement."
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Tagged: biofuels, United Nations
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