The Hindu Business Line : `First draft of HK ministerial meet of WTO disappointing'

`India will continue to play a constructive role to ensure that the Hong Kong Conference is a meaningful staging-post for the successful completion of the Development Round.'

New Delhi , Dec. 1

INDIA has voiced its disappointment over the first draft for the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) stating that it suffers from "a serious and growing development deficit in the Doha Round".

In a statement made at the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) at the WTO in Geneva on Wednesday, the Commerce Secretary, Mr S.N. Menon, cited paragraphs 17 to 20 of the draft text on special and differential (S&D) treatment as clear evidence of this fact. There has been virtually no progress in the Doha Mandate on S&D, calling for provisions to be made more effective, precise and operational. Even the five prioritised S&D proposals of the LDCs have not been agreed to. There is a similar lack of emphasis on development issues in agriculture, non-agriculture market access (NAMA) and trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPs).

"Urgent action is required to rectify this if the outcome of the Round is to have any credibility and relevance for developing countries," the statement noted, adding "India will continue to play a constructive role to ensure that the Hong Kong Conference is a meaningful staging-post for the successful completion of the Development Round."

On agriculture, Mr Menon said, "it will be extremely difficult for my delegation to go back home without convergence on issues such as specification in proportionality of cuts or thresholds of tariff reduction formula for developing countries."

Other issues that remain of concern to developing countries include agreement on designation and treatment of special products, product coverage, price and volume triggers and remedies in special safeguard mechanism and exemption from any form of cuts to the de minimis in the domestic support pillar.

He said that on NAMA "we are concerned with attempts to dilute less-than-full reciprocity in reduction commitments which requires that developed countries must undertake grater percentage reductions as compared to developing countries.

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