US, EU should cut subsidies, Gordon Brown agrees with PM

The issue of Doha round of WTO talks dominated discussions as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met his British counterpart Gordon Brown here, the two agreeing on the need for pushing the stalled negotiations. Brown, while favouring cuts in farm subsidies in the US and the EU, voiced optimism that an agreement could be reached in the global trade talks that have got stuck due to stiff opposition by India and some developing countries on agriculture subsidies.

“We need to understand the sensitivities of rural farmers in India and elsewhere,” Brown said at a joint press conference after their talks on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Summit. “I think there’s a consensus about the things that need to be done,” he said, adding, “obviously we need a cut in agricultural subsidies in the European and American markets. We need progress in opening up manufacturing.”