A Flame-Throwing Frenchman

(Washington Post – Editorial)

Mr. Sarkozy jeopardizes prospects at the next trade talks

The world economy could use an injection of expanded trade. But prospects for a global agreement to slash subsidies and tariffs are dim as trade ministers and other officials from 30 leading member-states of the World Trade Organization prepare for a crucial meeting in Geneva next Monday. At stake is the Doha Round of trade liberalization talks, which began with great promise in 2001 but have moved fitfully ever since. The Doha Round was conceptually sound: On the theory that trade has already lifted millions of people out of poverty around the world, its goal was for industrial countries to open their agricultural markets to the developing world in return for greater access to developing-country markets for manufactured goods and services. This objective has proven politically ambitious – it required sacrifice not only from Europe and the United States but also, as it turned out, from emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, which are as eager to protect their booming industries as they are to sell more crops.

The latest threat to the Doha Round comes from an all-too-familiar source: France, that bastion of anti-globalization sentiment. President Nicolas Sarkozy came to office promising fresh French thinking about economics. But, temporarily doing double duty as titular head of the European Union, Mr. Sarkozy has launched a series of verbal attacks on the European Union's representative at the talks, Peter Mandelson of Britain. Mr. Sarkozy, at variance with the view of E.U. economists, has accused Mr. Mandelson of selling out Europe's workers to the tune of "100,000" lost jobs, and its farmers to the tune of a "20%" drop in production. To these off-the-cuff figures, Mr. Sarkozy has added the assertion that "in a world where there are 800 million poor people who cannot satisfy their hunger and where a kid dies every 30 seconds from hunger, I will never accept a reduction in agricultural production on the altar of global liberalism." Actually, as Mr. Mandelson's spokesman replied in a remarkable point-by-point rebuttal, the less market share the developed world's farmers take up with the help of subsidies, the more opportunities there will be, over time, for poor countries to feed themselves.

At the Group of Eight summit in Japan, Mr. Sarkozy toned down his remarks a bit, indicating that he would like to see an agreement but just doesn't think it's in the cards. This is still disappointing. Mr. Sarkozy has, to some extent, kept his promises of a shakeup in one of Europe's most statist economies – for example, by challenging the entrenched privileges of state employees. But perhaps a fight with France's farmers is one more battle than he cares to wage. If so, Mr. Sarkozy could at least keep quiet until the ministers have had a chance to look over the draft proposals their subordinates have developed with the aid of WTO officials. They are said to represent bridgeable differences among the various countries, even if the ultimate reductions in trade barriers might be modest. The Doha Round might indeed fail, as Mr. Sarkozy implies. Why he would want to share the blame is beyond us.