Cotton-4 African countries in US to discuss subsidies

28 Jul '09

2 min read

Recently four representatives from the four major cotton producing countries in the African continent; Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mail, were in the US to discuss what they call engagement of unfair trade practices.

The Trade Ministers of the so called Cotton-4 or C-4 countries jointly addressed a press conference, which was coordinated by the Trade Minister of Burkina Faso, Mr Mamadou Sanou. He said the cotton sector in African continent had been greatly impacted by the subsidies doled out to the cotton farmers in the US and EU and they have come to Washington with a very high hope.

He pointed out to the 2005 WTO agreement, which makes it mandatory on each of the member countries to reduce their subsidies and want to reach an agreement with the US that it will reduce the subsidies.

Mr Mamadou said, that proposal to reduce the extent of cotton subsidies paid out by the US government to its cotton farmers was lying on the table since long without any dialogue or response on the same.

He also said that their attempts to hammer out an agreement at the WTO talks also had failed to take off. They are hoping that it will sorted out at November's WTO ministerial conference in Geneva.

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