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It is now Washington's turn

French farmers furious at EC’s subsidy slash plan
PARIS, May 23: French farmers furious with an EC de • ciston to slash agricultural subsidies took to the streets throughout the country Thursday night and Friday in protest demonstrations that turned violent tn places, reports AFP.
In Bordcaumbn about 60 farmers pelted the US consulate and the local prefects governor's office with eggs until a prefecture official agreed to meet them and near their grievances.
In the western city of Rouen, a farmer and a police man were slightly injured when demonstrators trying to storm the prefecture clashed with security forces.
Reports of widespread protests, with farmers burning tires and bales of straw and chanting anti-EC slogans, came from the northwest, north, cast and south of the country.
It was the harshest reaction in Europe to the EC agreement designed to end overproduction by slashing price supports for grains, beef and dairy products, but provid 1ng farmers with direct compensation on condition they leave 15 per cent of their land
fallow
Agriculture Minister Louis Mermaz. in a radio interview Friday, promised that "farming revenues will not only rermln stable, they will Improve, because the reduction In guaran teed prices will be totally off sei by the compensation, re gardless of the size of the larmland Involved."
He said France alms to reduce the number of Ils farmers from the current one million to about 700.000 by the start of the next century.
We do not want to produce less." he explained "but only to produce as much as we can sell — and we want u produce of better quality."
The mainstream farmers union, the FNSEA. said the EC agreement signified "the sacrifice of European agriculture to American Interests."
The demonstrations recalled widespread unrest last Fall, marked by violent clashes with security forces us fanners Intercepted trucks carrying Imported meat or wines and destroyed their contents.
The high point of the protest was a mass rally In September, tn which 200.000 farmers paraded peacefully through the streets of Paris In protest against government and EC agricultural policies.
According to agriculture ministry figures, farmers con stitulc less than nine per cent of the active population In France and contribute only four per cent to the Gross Domestic Product, compared lo seven per cent two decades ago
But France remains the world s top exporter of agricultural goods, holding 11.5 per
cent of the world market ahead of the United States and the Netherlands.
Another report from Brussels adds: British Agriculture Minister John Gummer said the agreement, to make deep culs In farm subsidies, was a signal lo the United States that Il was now Washington » turn to make concessions in GATT negotiations on world trade
EC Agricultural Commlsslo ncr Ray Macsharry said that a forma) agreement on the farm reforms was still being blocked by Italy, which wus demanding the right lo produce more milk than allocated lo It under the reform ulan
"Ihe probk-ni of Italy can be settled tomorrow or next week." Macsharry said
But other stumbling blocks include Washingtons refusal lo open up such service sector Industries as telecommunications and transport to GATT trade rules.
Gummer said that, following the EC's concessions on farm subsidies, it was now up to the United States to make concessions in other areas that would allow final agreement in the GATT negotiations.
Earlier report by AP from Geneva says: The organization overseeing world trade talks welcomed the European Community's change tn its farm-subsidy programme on Friday, but said the United States and other countries must decide the fate of ihe stalled talks.
But of course Ihe other participants in the round will wish to look very closely al the community's decisions as part of a continuing multilateral nc guttation." he said.