World awaits ‘fair winds’ as Buenos Aires hosts trade talks 

World awaits ‘fair winds’ as Buenos Aires hosts trade talks 

Context

India is set to retain food security right and the protection of poor farmers and fisher-folk as top priorities at the upcoming meeting of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) highest decision-making body in Buenos Aires

Ministerial conference

The WTO Ministerial Conference, to be held in South America for the first time, will see Argentina hosting the biennial event from December 10-13 in its capital, Buenos Aires

Agenda

The agenda for the multilateral trade negotiations would also include discussions on ways to advance e-commerce, investment facilitation and measures to help small firms participate effectively in the global marketplace

TFS proposal

In addition to prioritising farm issues, India is keen to push forward its proposal on a Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement

• Aim: The TFS proposal aims to ensure relaxation of norms for movement of skilled workers and professionals across borders for short-term work
• In its comments to the WTO on December 5, India proposed “a well-structured post-Buenos Aires meeting work programme on services” incorporating the TFS elements

Public Stockholding

India is among the many countries which feel that the current WTO norms on public stockholding are very restrictive and prevent governments from meeting their people’s food security needs

Special Safeguarding Mechanism (SSM)

Another outstanding agricultural issue India wants to see resolved is a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for developing countries

• The SSM would permit developing nations like India to temporarily raise tariffs to counter import surges or price declines of farm items, and thereby protect their farmers. While India is learnt to be backing the Philippines’ proposal for adoption of a price-based SSM

E-commerce

On e-commerce, a WTO note said the focus is on four areas:

• The future of the Work Programme (covering issues related to trade arising from global e-commerce)
• The moratorium (practice of agreeing at every Ministerial Conference to not impose customs duties on electronic transmissions, until the next Ministerial Conference)
• Possible negotiations on e-commerce, and
• The setting up of a working group or other institutional structure

Limiting harmful fisheries

On the negotiations to limit harmful fisheries subsidies, India is batting for continuation of subsidies to small and subsistence fisher-folk