From:
On Monday US trade official David Shark criticised India for rejecting the package and China for backing out of the terms it agreed to last week.
He accused them of being overly-protective towards their own farmers and failing to do enough to open their markets.
“Their actions have thrown the entire Doha round into the gravest jeopardy of its nearly seven-year life,” Mr Shark said.
now if that isn’t the funniest thing ever, i don’t know what is. oh wait.. i just have to read further:
France said the deal being worked out in Geneva was unacceptable, as it failed to show any real progress to protect European industrial interests in the face of emerging economies. The deal calls for cutting the limit on European farm subsidies by 80% and US payments by 70% to about $14.5bn (£7.25bn).
However, this would not mean the US would have to cut its actual spending on support to farmers, which totalled about $9bn last year.
now THAT’s genuine humour material
doop HQ 