| Date: |
11-12-2015 |
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India has no intention to delay anything in WTO talks, says commerce secy Rita Teaotia |
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NEW DELHI: Ahead of the World Trade Organisation ministerial meet next week, India has clarified that it has no intention of causing any delays in the new round of negotiations but said that it wants the Doha development round to reach its logical conclusion first.
"We have DDA (Doha Development Agenda) on the table. Let us achieve outcomes there. We don't want DDA to be dispensed with. We hope there is political will from all member countries...our intention is not to delay anything," said commerce secretary Rita Teaotia, while addressing the media in Delhi.
This will be the key point of discussions when trade ministers of 162 countries meet in Nairobi from December 15-18.
Referring to the new issues such as e-commerce, labour and environment, which developed countries want to include in the WTO negotiations, Teaotia said, "There are differing interests in the DDA framework, but enough space to find consensus."
India has been pushing for the continuation of the Doha round arguing on behalf of the developing countries that the development agenda on agricultural issues, cotton subsidies and least developed countries or LDCs has not been completely addressed.
Almost a hundred other countries want such issues to be addressed and are opposed to the closure of this round. Apart from the existing issues, India also wants the right to safeguard mechanism in case of sudden rise in imports or fall in prices. Teaotia said that the mechanism is not a bargaining chip for India but a facility that is available to many other countries.
PMO OKAYS NEGOTIATING MANDATE
The commerce department has secured a negotiating mandate from the Prime Minister's Office and will apprise the Cabinet after the talks. "In a sense, the discussions have taken place. So there will be no further meeting. It has been happening intermittently. We have been given the negotiating mandate by the Cabinet Secretariat. It has been already taken from the PMO also," said a commerce department official.
Separately, the department has prepared another Cabinet note on India's preparedness on ratifying the Trade Facilitation Agreement, detailing which all commitments can be fulfilled immediately and which require a transition period.
"We are already committed to trade facilitation and these are just formalities of the accession," said another official. Since other departments are in the process of sharing their views on it, it is unlikely that India will ratify the pact during the ministerial, the official said.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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