Japan unhappy with new WTO proposal

Japan gave a cool response to a World Trade Organisation proposal that no more than five percent of agriculture products be designated as "sensitive" items in global free trade talks. Crawford Falconer, the chairman of the WTO's special committee on agriculture, proposed Monday that the number of "sensitive" products -- such as rice in Japan -- that would be excluded from drastic tariff cuts should be limited to no more than five percent of the total.

Japan wants a level of between 10 and 15 percent, while the United States wants no more than one percent and the European Union hopes for eight percent. Falconer also called on the United States to cut trade distorting domestic support to below 19 billion dollars per year in an attempt to revitalise moribund world trade liberalisation talks.

Agriculture has been a key stumbling block in the WTO's Doha round of trade negotiations, which were launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.

The US and EU have engaged in bitter arguments over the subject, with Brussels demanding more reductions in US farm subsidies and Washington insisting that proposed European tariff cuts do not go far enough.