India seeks balanced outcome at WTO meet
While developed countries push for a trade facilitation deal to boost exports, developing nations seek pact on food security, free market access for LDCs
New Delhi: India has demanded a balanced outcome from the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Bali, Indonesia, scheduled for December, with the interest of so-called least developed countries (LDCs) and developing nations at its core. While developed countries are pushing for an agreement on trade facilitation to boost their exports, India and other developing countries want an agreement on food security and duty-free, quota-free market access for LDCs.
Interacting with key ambassadors of the WTO in Geneva on the road map for the Bali ministerial meeting, trade minister Anand Sharma said while India is not opposed to trade facilitation, there is a need for an internal balance, with adequate special and differential treatment for developing countries, LDCs and so-called small and vulnerable economies.
In the absence of a broad-based agreement on the Doha round of trade talks which started in 2001, member-countries are making a last-ditch attempt to work out areas where a consensus could be reached. Developed countries are projecting trade facilitation as a sure thing at the Bali ministerial meeting. The outgoing director general of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, in his report to the general council of the organization, recently stated that there could be closure on trade facilitation along with some elements of agriculture and issues related to LDCs in the upcoming meeting.
Most trade facilitation proposals under negotiation are about imports and have been put forward by developed countries and a few high-income developing countries. The proposal does not include export facilitation for developing countries and has no emphasis on development of export infrastructure such as ports, highways and railways to bring down trade costs. Sharma advocated providing technical and financial support to such economies so that they benefit from trade facilitation.
Sharma said India strongly endorses a proposal of the group of 33 developing countries (G-33) for food security and flexibility in their public stock holding operations for the public distribution system. “The interests of subsistence farmers in developing and poor countries have to be recognized and protected," Sharma said.
The cabinet last month approved the food security Bill which, if passed by Parliament, will commit the government to provide subsidized foodgrain to two-thirds of the country’s population, thus putting additional subsidy burden on the government. India apprehends this new commitment on food subsidy may be interpreted as a violation of permitted subsidy under WTO regulations. India argues such food procurement for the purpose of food security should be kept out of its commitments under WTO.
Abhijit Das, head and professor at the Centre For WTO Studies under the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, said even a balanced agreement in trade facilitation in isolation will not be in India’s favour and an agreement on food security is essential for the country.
Sharma also supported including an LDC package including duty-free, quota-free market access in the Bali agenda, that countries like India and China have already implemented. In December 2005, at the WTO’s sixth ministerial conference in Hong Kong, member-countries had agreed that developed countries would provide duty-free, quota-free market access for at least 97% of products originating from LDCs. Developing countries, within their capacity, were also invited to provide such market access for LDCs’ products. However, so far all developed countries have not yet met the commitment.
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