Canada on Friday expressed disappointment over the new proposals submited by the European Union (EU) in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, saying it does not provide for meaningful improvements in market access and subsidy issues.

"Canada is very disappointed in the EU proposal and feels that significantly more is needed to move the negotiations forward," said a statement jointly issued by Canada's International Trade Minister Jim Peterson and Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Andy Mitchell.

The proposal "does not go nearly far enough" with regard to providing market access and reducing trade-distorting subsidies, the statement said.

"We are looking for key members, such as the US and the EU, to make big reductions to their high levels of support and protection, so that Canadian producers and processors can compete fairly and equitably in global markets."

Canada and other key WTO members were looking for the EU to propose a "much more ambitious" tariff reduction formula, as well as "appropriate treatment" for sensitive products, it said, adding the EU proposal "does not provide for meaningful access improvements or the flexibility" called for in the July 2004 framework agreement.

Europe's top trade negotiator, Peter Mandelson, said on Friday Europe would cut the average agriculture tariff by 46.7 percent, meaning that the average farm tariff that protects European farmers would fall from 23 percent to 12.

Previously, the EU had offered to cut its average agriculture tariff by 34.2 percent.

European farm tariffs stand as one of the most difficult roadblocks holding up global trade talks. The US, which made its own farm trade proposal over two weeks ago, has chided Europe for not making a similar step forward, warning that talks known as the Doha Round could fail if Europe failed to produce a credible offer.

The EU also amended its previous offer by proposing that 8 percent of all product types, about 160 products, should be classified as "sensitive products" that countries themselves could select and would subject to different tariff rules.

That was down from 12 percent in its previous offer, criticized as too high by the US and others. "Sensitive products," such as dairy and beef in Europe, or rice in Japan, give governments a way of protecting important products that they believe would not survive global competition.

Source: Xinhua