Kamal Nath asks US to offer 'real' cuts in farm subsidy

23 July 2008

Mumbai: Commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath has asked the US to offer ''real'' cuts in trade distorting agricultural subsidies rather than making untenable proposals that, in fact, doubles subsidies from the current $7 billion to $15 billion.

The US proposal to reduce the subsidies was also not in line with the current food prices, Nath said.

The US had yesterday made an offer to reduce its overall trade distorting subsidies to $15 billion while its actual subsidies were in the range of $7 billion.

''It is hardly an offer when their applied duty subsidy is seven billion dollars," Nath said.

Kamal Nath who is back in Geneva to join crucial negotiations to break the Doha deadlock, said the developed countries are just looking at the pockets of developing countries and offering nothing in return.

The US wants large and emerging economies like India, China, Brazil and South Africa to open up the markets for manufacturing goods in return for an implicit cut - which in fact is an effective increase – in American farm subsidies.