Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy reaffirmed Saturday their intention to oppose drastic farm trade liberalization at the proposed launch of new global trade talks under the World Trade Organization, a Japanese official said.
"The two ministers reconfirmed that they will continue to cooperate on farm trade," the official said.
Meeting on the sidelines of an informal two-day WTO ministerial meeting in Singapore, Tanaka told Lamy that a ministerial declaration to be adopted at a full ministerial meeting on Nov. 9-13 in Doha, Qatar, should not set a specific direction on farm trade to be negotiated under the new round.
Lamy responded that liberalization of agriculture trade should be promoted in a way that meets the requirements of each country, according to the official.