Oct. 25, CABO SAN LUCAS (Mexico Knight-Ridder / Tribune Business News) --If actions speak louder than words, then the world's most developedeconomies have some explaining to do.While rich nations constantly are preaching the gospel of freer trade asthe way for their poor counterparts to improve their lot, seldom do thewell-to-do follow their own advice when it comes to subsidizing domesticagriculture."It is a scandal that farmers in rich countries are subsidized by theirgovernments to produce sugar at 50 or 60 cents a pound, while farmers inpoor countries like the Philippines and the Caribbean receive 5 cents apound because the surplus sugar produced by richer countries is dumped onworld markets," said Dryden Spring, a representative of the private-sectoradvisory council to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.APEC continues through Sunday in this luxury resort town."Agriculture is a thorny subject, because we are talking about tariffs ofhundreds of percent," said Spring, a New Zealand trade negotiator andformer head of that nation's dairy board."But like every other industry, agriculture must perform."The business council wants wealthy economies of the 21 member APEC statesto eliminate tariffs and subsidies by 2010, and for their poorer brethrento follow suit by 2020.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick fielded questions about how hisnation would comply.Washington just five months ago passed a landmark farm bill extending $171billion in support to American growers over the next decade.Nevertheless, the United States is a staunch supporter of lowering tradebarriers in accordance with APEC and World Trade Organization goals."There's been a lot of misinformation," Zoellick said Thursday. "I've beentrying to dispel a lot of propaganda."Zoellick said American farmers are willing to give up their price supports-- but only if their competitors in the European Union and Japan do thesame."The United States has come forward with its proposal. The Europeans andthe Japanese have not," he said.While American growers enjoy export subsidies of $19 billion, Washingtonproposes to reduce that figure to $10 billion, Zoellick said.He called on the European Union, with $65 billion, to reduce its subsidiesto $12 billion.American farmers have agreed to reduce tariffs from 12 percent to 5percent, but want Europe to bring its 30 percent tariffs down by more thantwo-thirds."The 21 APEC member economies are saying to the major agricultural exportsubsidizer, the E.U., it's time to step forward," Zoellick said.Also Thursday, leaders of nations and corporations tackled an urgentglobal dilemma: How to open borders to trade while closing them toterrorists.But violence kept Russia's president away as his Pacific Rim counterpartscame to this strip of luxury resorts for the conference.Vladimir Putin canceled his visit and meeting with President Bush afterChechen separatists took hundreds of hostages in Moscow.Bush had hoped to use the meeting to win Putin's support for threats offorce against Iraq.In the post-Sept. 11, 2001, world, terrorism sends markets plunging, andthe global economic slump forces politicians to rethink priorities."You can't trade in an insecure world," said Nelson Cunningham, managingdirector of Kissinger McLarty Associates, a Washington consulting firm."APEC has been hijacked by the terrorists."Secretary of State Colin Powell said APEC members would soon launch "apackage of bold joint actions to make the flow of trade, finance andcommunication more secure."He said richer countries would help poorer ones with the resources theyneed to implement the measures."To drive growth and generate prosperity," Powell said, APEC nations needto tighten security, "particularly our security from global terrorism."