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India wants WTO to honour decisions taken at Bali in 2013 first: Nirmala Sitharaman |
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NEW DELHI: In the run-up to the World Trade Organisation's ministerial conference in Nairobi next week, India has said it wants the agenda finalised at Bali in 2013 to be implemented before it makes any fresh commitments.
India is not willing to make binding commitments on new areas such as labour, environment and competition that the developed countries have been trying to introduce into the WTO mandate, officials said.
WTO's tenth ministerial conference is set to take place from December 15-18.
Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interaction with the media on Monday, "The grievance is that many things which are part of the development agenda don't have a work programme. Even after Bali in 2013, there is no work programme like there was for trade facilitation agreement."
While India had agreed to ratify the trade facilitation agreement (TFA), clarity is yet to emerge on the rest of the Bali package that comprises agriculture issues including public stockholding for food security purposes and export competition, cotton and issues pertaining to least developed countries.
The commerce department has circulated an inter-ministerial note on TFA and the Cabinet will consider it soon.
Developed countries have been trying to insert new issues related to investment, competition, labour, government procurement, environment, climate change and global value chains. According to India's trade negotiators, though, discussions on Mode 4, involving movement of natural persons, in the services agreement will be welcome even though the country has not taken any position on this issue.
Sitharaman said that India's wish list from the ministerial has four elements - permanent solution for stockpiling for food security, safeguard mechanism in case of sudden rise in imports or fall in prices, no differential treatment only because India is a high growth emerging economy and the inclusion of peace clause in the draft ministerial declaration.
"Our effort to ensure that the unfulfilled elements of Doha find a place somewhere and work programmes are given differentiated treatment is not applicable and we have enough instruments for protecting from any sudden surge," the minister said.
Asked whether India will be considered an obstructionist country because of such a stance, she said, "I didn't get the feeling that in current phase of working towards Nairobi, India is seen as obstructionist. I am not asking for something new, so how can I be seen as obstructionist?"
While safeguards mechanism was not part of the Bali outcome, India has been pressing for it because it will give it the right to impose contingency restrictions on imports when import volumes rise above a certain level or prices fall below a certain level.
At present, this mechanism is available to 39 countries including developed ones. India is arguing that besides providing parity, this is the only way that it can reduce duties to achieve free trade because duties are seen as trade distorting.
"We are working towards a meaningful ministerial declaration which is binding," the minister said.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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