The United States must do more to help millions of poor farmers in Africa whose livelihoods are threatened by generous US farm subsidies, a delegation of African ministers said on Wednesday.
"In our countries, it is a question of survival" for 15 million cotton producers, Moudjaidou Issifou Soumanou, Benin's minister of industry and trade, told reporters in Washington.
Soumanou and fellow trade ministers from Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali met with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in Washington. Crucial in their US visit is cotton, a staple crop for some West and Central African countries that have long complained they cannot compete with a subsidised industry in the United States, the world's largest cotton exporter.
US cotton supports totalled $5 billion in 2005, according to aid agency Oxfam.
The four nations have spearheaded a proposal to cut subsidies from the United States, the European Union and others. In 2004, the WTO even set up a unique subcommittee to deal with the thorny cotton issue.
The ministers are also pushing the United States to counter the millions of dollars in losses they say occur when world cotton prices are depressed by rich nations' subsidies.
The United States maintains subsidies here haven't had a big effect on world prices, and says it is already helping Africa with trade and development assistance. Also high on the agenda for the ministers' visit this week was the beleaguered Doha Round of trade talks, which was suspended in July in an impasse over agriculture.
"We look forward to continuing to work with our trading partners from these four countries on an agreement that will increase trade flows, create new economic opportunities and alleviate poverty," Schwab said in a statement.
Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore agreed with Schwab, saying via in a videoconference that a Doha deal would benefit poor nations and rich nations alike.
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