Brussels
The E.U. said this week it would quit subsidizing its farmers if the U.S. and other rich nations followed suit. The surprise offer was intended to jump-start the World Trade Organization talks that have been stalled for months. African and Latin American countries have long complained that their farmers cannot compete fairly on the world market against European and U.S. rivals who get billions of dollars in government aid. France, which has a loud and powerful farm lobby and is the largest recipient of E.U. farm subsidies, opposed the offer. Making “unilateral concessions,” said French Agricultural Minister Hervé Gaymard, is a “very dangerous tactic.”
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