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Our Bureau

Rejects notion of slimmed-down round

New Delhi , May 1

The Global Services Coalition today expressed its disappointment over the missed deadline in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of global trade talks. WTO members were to have agreed by April 30, on the modalities for agriculture and goods trade liberalisation, which are seen as pivotals in moving the broader round forward, according to an official release.

The Indian services sector is represented by Nasscom in the global coalition.

"Once again, progress in services - which represent the greatest share of economic output in both developed and developing countries - is being prevented by WTO members' lack of political will to reach an agreement in agriculture and goods," the coalition said in an official statement.

Reiterates stand

However, the coalition firmly rejected the notion of a slimmed-down round indicating that it would not support a round that did not have a substantial outcome on services. It reiterated its long-standing position that WTO members must be ambitious, and that the round must yield a new, commercially significant, liberalisation.

The time for finger-pointing has passed. WTO members know what needs to be done to advance the round; they must now demonstrate the political will to do so, or the entire undertaking will fail. In that scenario, everyone loses - developed and developing countries alike, in all corners of the globe, the coalition said.

"We are on the verge of squandering a once-in-a-generation opportunity," the coalition said.

"Not only could we lose what is already on the table, but we will set back for years any hope of multilateral progress in agricultural reform, tariff reduction and services liberalisation. That is the ultimate lose-lose scenario," it said.

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