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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Doha round must not be abandoned, warns India
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Doha round must not be abandoned, warns India

Trade secretary questions proposal by developed countries who are demanding a new multilateral round

A file photo of trade secretary Rita Teaotia. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/MintPremium
A file photo of trade secretary Rita Teaotia. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint

New Delhi: Developed countries are trying to stonewall substantive negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda of the World Trade Organization and attempting to push through new issues into the discussions at the upcoming Nairobi ministerial meeting of the trade body, India’s trade secretary Rita Teaotia said.

Teaotia, publicly stating India’s stance on the 10th WTO ministerial for the first time on Thursday, said that before moving on to newer areas, there is a need to close some of the issues that are already on the table.

These are issues into which a lot of effort has gone and which are of enormous interest to developing countries. The Nairobi meeting is scheduled to be held on 15-18 December.

“Doha round must not be abandoned at Nairobi. It is true there were rough patches. But, nevertheless, the overwhelming number of members in this body are developing countries and it is in their interest to persist in their efforts to secure an outcome on these issues," she said.

Questioning the proposal by developed countries that the Doha round should be abandoned in favour of a new multilateral round, Teaotia said countries will have to find the answer for it in Nairobi.

“What’s in it for us? There has to be a really good reason to go forward into newer territory, abandoning all the work that has been done for more than a decade to some purpose," she said.

Teaotia said developing countries have a greater interest than developed nations in the outcome of the Doha round of negotiations. “We have now one group of countries who appear to be stonewalling engagements on substantive negotiations under the Doha mandate. At the same time, there is an effort now to introduce new issues on the table, to try and expand the mandate without addressing the issues which are already on the table," she said.

The new issues being advocated by the developed countries include the so-called 21st century issues such as investment, competition, labour, government procurement, environment, climate change and global value chains.

In Nairobi, India will raise the need to retain the flexibilities available to developing countries in agriculture with the aim of achieving growth, stability and poverty alleviation, Teaotia said.

India will also demand the removal of targeted farm subsidies by developed countries in order to end the distortions of the Uruguay round of talks while ensuring that the special safeguard mechanism is available to developing countries against any sudden surges in agricultural imports.

India will also insist on a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security. “At Bali, an interim solution was found by way of a peace clause. It is not a final outcome and it certainly remains on the table. We will also work on how a genuinely constructive package can be available for least developed countries at Nairobi," she said.

Teaotia claimed there is overwhelming support from developing countries to carry forward the Doha round of talks. “There is a huge consensus now building for preserving the Doha development agenda," she said.

“The G-33 group of developing countries, the Africa group has articulated its view, the African Caribbean Pacific group comprising up to 61 countries have articulated their views.

“Even at the recent G-20 meeting, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) as a way forward has been clearly flagged. So, if you look at the number of countries who have rallied around to carry forward the work, it is more than 100 countries who are saying it is the DDA which needs to be the foundation on which we go forward."

On 21 October, WTO director general Roberto Azevedo, at a meeting of trade ministers from the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states in Brussels, said there is a clear divergence among the members on the way forward for Doha round issues.

“It seems to me that all members agree that DDA core issues must remain on the negotiating agenda—such as agriculture, market access and services. I think, there is consensus on that. However, there is no agreement on how these negotiations should take place—whether under the present Doha framework or whether under some new architecture," he said.

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Published: 04 Dec 2015, 12:08 AM IST
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