12/15/05 U.S. defends food aid

12/15/05 U.S. defends food aid

Farm and Ranch December 15, 2005 Among the many bones of contention between the United States and the European Union in the current round of world trade talks is the issue of food aid. The E.U. contends the U.S. distorts world prices with its food aid and wants a system based on cash not commodity donations. Speaking from the WTO Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns defended U.S. food aid. Johanns: "Fifty-eight percent of the food aid we provide goes to emergency situations. Even though the E.U. argues that this should be cash I think every other country in the world says these emergency situations are desperate. And they are desperate. These are the pictures on TV of children dying." USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios told reporters in Hong Kong that the E.U.'s food aid contributions have declined significantly since it went to a cash, local purchase program. He said while President Bush has proposed that part of U.S. aid be cash for local purchase, if the U.S. went entirely to a local purchase protocol there would be a collapse of total food assistance in the world and there would be hungry people. As for food aid market impact, Natsios said U.S. food aid last year accounted for only two percent of U.S. agricultural trade. The U.S. did make an offer in Hong Kong yesterday to double its funding for Aid for Trade over the next five years. That program to help underdeveloped countries includes many facets of which food aid is only part. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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