A NEW report has questioned the point of Australia persisting with the ailing Doha trade negotiations, and questioned the benefits it would deliver for Australian agriculture.
The full report on trade policy by the Australian Farm Institute, released this week, argues trade has become more – not less – restricted in recent years despite the ongoing negotiations to try to conclude the current round of World Trade Organisation talks which have lived and died several times over the past eight years.
While a new deal promises a significant freeing up of the barriers restricting global trade and a lifting of agricultural subsidies and tariffs in key markets like America and the European Union, the AFI report says there is a chance the Doha agreement could result in a worse outcome for agriculture compared to what exists now, and argues the "promised pot of gold" for farmers at the end of a "level playing field rainbow" was as distant and elusive as it had ever been.
It says international trade negotiations had more to do with "finding new rules and definitions to appease every possible national exception" rather than actually reducing impediments to agricultural trade.
"…progress in achieving reductions in agricultural trade barriers is at best likely to be torturously slow," according to AFI executive director, Mick Keogh.
"Very real questions emerge about the continuing value of Australian engagement in the Doha trade negotiations and Cairns Group.
"Perhaps it's time to take some dramatic action, to constitute a new group of nations that have real interest in reducing agricultural trade barriers rather than just paying the concept lip service…
"Perhaps it is also time to stop assuring Australian farmers that agricultural trade liberalisation "is just around the corner" and instead recognise the reality of a continuation of the distorted agricultural trade environment that has been experienced over the last 50 years."
But the Government was quick to dismiss the report and argue the value in persisting for a successful conclusion, which it hopes will be reached next year.
Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, has just returned home from informal Doha talks in India, and says for a report like this to suggest abandoning the negotiations was simply "running up the white flag".
Mr Crean says he believes a deal is close, and while not guaranteed, everything had been done in the past 18 months to reactivate the negotiations which had all but collapsed.
"Whatever the argument is about how long this has taken, that's a legacy factor for us – we came into office, we made it our priority," Mr Crean said.
"By all measures, we are 80 per cent of the way there.
"The remaining 20pc has remained elusive and has been stalled by a combination of political factors, namely the US and Indian elections.
"I don't want to give up on the round and I don't know anyone within the farm leadership that is seriously arguing that point.
"I'd say the view to pull out is out of touch. It might be a view that reflects frustration, that's fine.
"But what do you do with frustration? You try and move it forward."
Mr Crean said while the report questioned the benefits of agreement, he said there were significant rewards for agriculture that had been overlooked.
"In terms of what's on the table for agriculture includes cuts of up to 70pc of developed country tariffs, that's Europe and the US, plus cuts of up to 80pc of domestic support subsidies of the major subsidising nations.
"There will be cuts of US farm support down to US $14.5 billion from about $48b.
"There's also the complete elimination of export subsidies by 2013."
National Farmers Federation chief executive officer, Ben Fargher, said he agreed with the frustrations expressed in the report over how long and drawn out the negotiations had been, but pulling out would leave farmers little alternative in achieving trade liberalisation.
"We don't support walking away from the negotiations of the Cairns group," Mr Fargher said.
"There's no doubt the negotiations have been slow and problematic, but we stand strong on the need for reform.
"Our industries have and will continue to benefit from trade reforms, and walking away now would give us little alternative on this front."
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