The EU will make no more concessions on agricultural subsidies, and insisted again yesterday that it was up to the US to rescue the troubled world-trade talks by matching EU offers of farm spending cuts.
Austrian Agriculture Minister Josef Proell, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the Europeans have made their spending cut offers in world-trade talks, "and it would be wrong to make a new offer."
While his comment took aim at Washington, it also was a note of caution to Peter Mandelson, the EU top trade negotiator, not to be seduced by Europe's trade partners into making further concessions in agricultural trade.
Mandelson, of Britain, scared some EU governments this month by signaling a willingness to deepen an EU offer for lower farm tariffs.
Mandelson's office has since said he still rejects a 54 percent demanded by a group of 20 developing nations.
The EU has offered a 46 percent cut, which its trade partners reject as insufficient.
Speaking at the outset of a two-day EU agriculture ministers meeting, Proell told reporters that Europe's trade "partners, especially the United States, do not move at all" to get the WTO talks moving.
An important April 30 deadline in the current round of world trade talks has been missed amid the trans-Atlantic recriminations, which continue unabated.
Proell said "the United States should make a move," adding -- likely for Mandelson's benefit -- that the 25 EU nations "speak with one voice on that."
In the trade talks, the EU has accused the US and developing nations of using Europe as a scapegoat for difficulties in completing the 149-nation WTO trade talks.
The so-called Doha round is two years behind schedule, and talks are at an impasse, with developing countries demanding that rich nations do more to open up their farm markets.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
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