British finance minister Alistair Darling will urge the European Union to extend the suspension of import tariffs on grains and re-think its biofuels policy to help ease soaring food prices in the 27-nation bloc. In a letter to his European counterparts, Darling will say the EU must ensure its policies are not unnecessarily inflating the cost of food. European Union finance ministers meet in Brussels on May 14 and rising global food and energy prices are expected to be high on the agenda. "The EU has a clear responsibility to play a full role in the international community's collective efforts to address the consequences of spiralling food prices by tackling the causes," Darling wrote. "It is unacceptable that at a time of significant food price inflation the EU continues to apply very high import tariffs on many agricultural commodities."
British finance minister Alistair Darling will urge the European Union to extend the suspension of import tariffs on grains and re-think its biofuels policy to help ease soaring food prices in the 27-nation bloc.
In a letter to his European counterparts, Darling will say the EU must ensure its policies are not unnecessarily inflating the cost of food.
European Union finance ministers meet in Brussels on May 14 and rising global food and energy prices are expected to be high on the agenda.
"The EU has a clear responsibility to play a full role in the international community's collective efforts to address the consequences of spiralling food prices by tackling the causes," Darling wrote.
"It is unacceptable that at a time of significant food price inflation the EU continues to apply very high import tariffs on many agricultural commodities."
Someone go tell Campbell that many grain- and rice-exporting countries are now putting quantitative export restrictions on these commodities.
So what would increased demand from the EU do to the global market?
It's easy to be a neoliberal. You only think about the 'free market' in abstract without having to consider the actual workings of any concrete, existing market.
