General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Hansard, 10 December 1992)

§ Mr. Ancram
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effect the recent GATT agreement between the United States of America and the EC and the proposed reduction in export subsidies will have on cereal prices in the United Kingdom.

§ Mr. Curry
None. As the EC Commission has made clear, the agreement on agricultural issues reached with the United States in the context of the current GATT round is consistent with the reforms to common agricultural policy regimes agreed earlier this year.

§ Mr. Ancram
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effect the recent GATT agreement between the United States of America and the EC will have on exports of British cereal crops to non-EC countries.

§ Mr. Curry
None. As the EC Commission has made clear, the agreement on agricultural issues reached with the United States in the context of the current GATT round is consistent with the reforms to CAP regimes agreed earlier this year.

§ Mr. Ancram
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effect the recent GATT agreement between the United States of America and the EC will have on the percentage of land compulsorily set aside under the CAP.

§ Mr. Curry
The recent agreements between the United States and the EC on GATT agriculture questions pave the way for an overall agreement which will include restrictions on subsidised exports of cereals. The Commission does not consider that these restrictions756W should in themselves lead to any increase in the percentage of land set aside under the new arable arrangements adopted earlier this year as part of the CAP reform package.
The agreements also provide for a separate oilseeds base area for the 1994 and subsequent harvests. The set-aside percentage for this base area will continue to be the same as for other crops covered by the new arable arrangements, subject to a minimum set-aside requirement of 10 per cent. The current requirement under the arable regime is 15 per cent.