Kenya: EU Refuses to Budge Over Subsidies

The European Union has announced that it was ready to remove contentious domestic subsidies as long as its American counterparts followed suit. Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said the European Union was ready to zero rate agricultural export subsidies for members of the G90 who include Africa upon request. The EU however declined to give a specific date for implementation, a key demand by African Trade ministers that led to the collapse of the Cancun talks. "We are reforming our systems to ensure less distortions and hope that Americans will do the same or else if they don't we shall be at a trade disadvantage," Mr Lamy said.