A three-day WTO trade conference got off to a fiery start Friday as trade ministers from 22 countries clashed over a recent WTO draft proposal aimed at expanding farm trade.
Tensions were already running high earlier in the day as delegates met in twos to exchange views on an agricultural trade liberalization proposal released Wednesday by Stuart Harbinson, chairman of the World Trade Organization's agricultural negotiations committee.
The Harbinson draft calls for a larger average tariff reduction than the 36 percent sought by a coalition of farm produce importers led by Japan and the European Union. It likewise does not meet the more stringent demand by exporters such as the United States and Australia for a uniform 25 percent ceiling on all farm tariffs.