The Hindu Business Line : India hails revised WTO texts on agriculture, NAMA

Trade talks
Final view on the texts will be taken only after consultations with other Ministries, domestic stakeholders, and India’s partner countries in Geneva.
Divergences still exist on overall trade-distorting domestic support, market access in Sensitive Products and Tariff Capping.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Feb. 12 India today broadly hailed the Revised Draft Modalities texts on Agriculture and NAMA (Non-agricultural market access) even while expressing some reservations on new insertions in the revised texts that would affect the fundamental interests of developing countries.

In a statement issued here, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, maintains that a final view on the two texts by the two Negotiating Chairs of the WTO would be possible only after holding consultations with other Ministries, domestic stakeholders, and India’s partner countries in Geneva.

While stating that the Agriculture text distils the progress made in negotiations between September 2007 and January 2008 with convergence in some areas, Mr Nath said the Chair has also put out brand new text in some other unresolved areas and these would require detailed deliberations e.g. Special Products (SPs), Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), Special Safeguards, Tropical Products and Tariff Simplification.

Divergent issues

There are also some other issues on which large divergences still exist, e.g. OTDS (overall trade-distorting domestic support), market access in Sensitive Products and Tariff Capping. The Minister said: “Significant and effective reduction of trade distorting subsidies of the developed countries is an issue on which there can be no compromise because they impact adversely upon the livelihood of millions of our poor farmers”.

He added that: “Indian agriculture cannot be expected to carry the burden and most definitely not in a Development Round”.

The Minister expressed satisfaction over the fact that the original G-20 proposal of a minimum 54 per cent cut in agricultural tariffs for developed countries and a maximum tariff cut of 36 per cent for developing countries was back on the table. “India had always espoused the concept of two thirds proportionality between developed and developing countries in tariff reductions,” he added.

On the Special Safeguard Mechanism, he said that some of the proposals in the text were likely to render the SSM unworkable and detract from its utility.

The SSM was a defensive instrument to safeguard livelihood issues.

Mr Nath noted that though the Revised NAMA text continues with the earlier proposals on Swiss coefficients, it reflects that there are other points of view held by many countries.

However, the Minister expressed surprise at the removal of the numbers on flexibilities for developing countries, which have been on the table since the Framework of July 2004.

He stated that these numbers were the very least that the developing countries, including India, needed in order to protect their infant industries, small-scale industries, and vulnerable sectors. “We need greater flexibilities,” he added.

The Chair should not have withdrawn the numbers from the text and left room for ambiguity to creep in.

The Minister hoped that the Chair of the Rules Negotiating Group would take a cue from the NAMA Chair and now come out with a revised text, which truly reflects the views of the membership rather than representing just the views of one country, as in the case of the anti-dumping proposals.

Sounding an optimistic note, the Minister stated that the revised texts can form the basis for constructive engagement and negotiation in the coming weeks. However, a lot of hard work still lies ahead. For instance, there are around 170 square brackets in the agriculture text alone, which have to be reduced through intensive negotiations to a small and manageable number.

“There are admittedly a number of areas where there are strong differences of opinion. Convergence in these areas will have to be incrementally achieved in these areas,” Mr Nath said.

While asserting that India was committed to concluding the Doha Round quickly, he said. “Now is the time for progress in other areas of interest to the WTO membership, viz. Rules and Services. There must be simultaneous progress on all fronts if we are to clinch a deal by end 2008,” he concluded.