No WTO deal without food security: India

No WTO deal without food security: India

Context

India has said it cannot envisage any negotiated outcome, at the ongoing meeting of the World Trade Organisation’s apex decision-making body, which does not include successful resolution of the food security right issue.

Only Unconditional Solution acceptable

India has already made it clear that it will not accept a ‘permanent solution’ with onerous conditions that in turn make it very difficult for the (Indian) government or other developing countries to meet the food security needs of their people

View of the Developed Nations: A ploy to divide the developing countries

This is in the context of attempts by certain rich countries to wreck the broad unity among developing nations on a host of issues, by suggesting that countries such as India and China are currently emerging economies and reasonably strong in trade — unlike others in the developing world – and, therefore, such powerful nations that are still in the ‘developing’ category do not deserve to gain from the favourable treatment meant only for developing nations in WTO Agreements

Concerns expressed by India

Inordinate delay in appointment of new members to the (WTO’s) Appellate Body

The Backdrop: This statement comes in the backdrop of criticism against the US for blocking the re-appointment of judges to the WTO’s Appellate Body — a move that many say would undermine the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism, which is recognised as a fundamental pillar of the organisation due to it being a ‘fair, effective and efficient mechanism to solve trade problems

No’ to ‘new issues’

India opposed the endeavour of certain countries to include ‘new issues’ — such as e-commerce, investment facilitation and matters relating to small firms — in the ongoing Doha Round of negotiations (which started in 2001 with a ‘development agenda’), without first resolving outstanding issues including those relating to food security.

India pushing TFS (Trade Facilitation in Services)

• India’s proposal for a Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement, which, among other things, aims to liberalise rules on movement of professionals and skilled workers across borders for temporary work/projects.
• A work programme for Services including Domestic Regulation and some elements of India’s TFS proposal, including Mode 4 (temporary movement of natural persons including professionals), can take the Services agenda forward

Asymmetry in farm subsidy norms

The WTO Agreement on Agriculture provides considerable flexibility to the developed members to provide huge subsidies and further, to concentrate these subsidies on a few products.

India’s View

This asymmetry needs to be addressed as a first step in agricultural reform through a post-Buenos Aires work programme without, however, shifting the burden of reduction of agricultural subsidies to developing countries.

Limiting harmful fisheries subsidies

India can agree to future work on this issue towards an outcome at the Ministerial Conference in 2019 that preserves the policy space for developing countries to support millions who depend on traditional fishing activity as the sole source of livelihood.

Conclusion

At a time when the global trade environment is extremely fragile, let this Ministerial Conference be an occasion for concluding the unfinished agenda of the Doha Work Programme, and collectively strive to preserve and revitalize the WTO.”