The Hindu Business Line : Doubts over market access in farm sector stall WTO talks

India has made it absolutely clear at the recent WTO meeting in Geneva that "talk of a settlement entailing heavy sacrifices by developing countries in terms of market access in agriculture and industrial tariffs with only moderate offers for reduction in agricultural subsidy by developed countries" was not acceptable.

Sources in the Government said that at the Geneva meeting of the mini ministerial of the WTO, which ended in a stalemate with the US not yielding an inch in the reduction commitments of domestic support to its farmers, India made it amply clear that "interests and concerns of farmers, especially those relating to subsistence and livelihood" are non-negotiable for developing countries as a whole.

The sources said the mini ministerial saw unprecedented solidarity among developing countries, cutting across various groupings in the WTO such as the G-20, the G-33, African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) countries, the Small and Vulnerable Economies (SVE), the NAMA-11, the cotton group and the Caricom. India and other developing countries were unanimous that negotiations in agriculture, non-agricultural market access (NAMA) i.e., industrial tariffs and other areas must address on a priority basis the development needs and concerns of developing countries. The developed countries were not only unwilling to reduce the farm subsidies, but also attempted to include developed countries on special product categories for exemption from tariff reductions.

It was against this backdrop — when there was no unanimity within the G-6 comprising the US, the European Union, India, Brazil, Australia and Japan in the green room of the WTO conclave in Geneva — that India felt that the negotiating space was simply evaporating. Hence Mr Kamal Nath, India's principal trade negotiator, rejected outright all attempts at re-writing the Hong Kong declaration of 2005, the July Framework of 2004 and the mandate of Doha itself. In fact, a statement issued by G-20 spelt out that the developed members should provide for substantial and effective cuts in trade-distorting support, as agreed in Hong Kong. In this regard, developing countries should not be expected to pay a price for the elimination of distortions that affect global trade in agricultural products.