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With just a seven-year time-frame prescribed by the World Trade Organisation for doing away with all forms of farm export subsidies, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia has said that India needs to prepare a road-map to phase out the incentives.
The Commerce Secretary maintained that the country’s position at the WTO has not changed and it would keep pressing for continuation of the Doha Development Round (launched in 2001) and extension of special and differential treatment for India at the multilateral platform.
“India needs to develop a road-map for phasing out the agriculture export subsidies,” Teaotia said at an event organised by the International Chamber of Commerce.
India agreed to phase out its agriculture export subsidies (including flexibilities allowed in transport and marketing) by 2023, at the recent WTO’s ministerial meeting in Nairobi.
It, however, did not agree to a demand from developed members such as the EU and the US that emerging economies like India, China and Brazil not be extended special and differential treatment (more favourable treatment than developed countries) so far given to all developing countries.
India also did not agree to the discontinuation of the Doha round and introduction of new issues that most developed nations, especially the US and the EU, have been pressing for.
Teaotia said that it was important for the Doha agenda as it addresses the legitimate interest of poor farmers and food security of millions of people of developing countries.
New Delhi seeks to propose services facilitation agreement, on the line of the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) finalised at the Bali ministerial meet in December 2013, as the services sector is becoming increasingly important for developing countries, the Secretary added.
“We believe that just as we have a TFA (in goods), there is a need for us to work towards a services facilitation agreement. This should be the next item of work (in the WTO),” she said.
Teaotia said that the Centre was holding consultations with the States on the TFA and was trying to ratify it at the earliest.
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