South Africa needs to adapt its trade and tariff policies following the suspension of the latest Doha round of negotiations, the South African Agricultural Processors Association (Saapa) said on Wednesday.
”Following on the recognition that these negotiations have failed to achieve the developing world’s goals … agreed to under the Doha round, South Africa needs to re-look at its trade and tariff strategies to reposition itself,” said Jannie de Villiers, Saapa executive director.
”The suspension of the negotiations is a huge disappointment,” he added.
The association represents various large food processors in South Africa.
De Villiers said the ”unlevelled playing field” between the developed and the developing world was well known to all negotiators.
”The failure of this round is a clear indication that the rich countries do not want to share their wealth with the developing word,” De Villiers said.
He said the current trade and tariff policies were all made within the framework of good faith that the developed world would phase out its agricultural subsidies.
”Without their fixed commitment through the WTO [World Trade Organisation], we do not expect any fireworks in the phasing out of agricultural subsidies, and therefore have to rethink our own policies,” he said in a statement.
De Villiers said South African agriculture and agricultural businesses had been exposed to these subsidies in the global trade environment, with very little protection.
”This is something we have to address. A suggestion is to define the unlevelled playing field as expressed in the percentage PSE’s [Producer Support Estimates] as determined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation [OECD] and to convert that to an ad valorem import tariff.”
De Villiers said this would enable South Africa to liberalise its agriculture according to the reduction in international subsidies. – Sapa