WTO: India to pitch for permanent solution for food security

New Delhi: India will pitch for conclusion of Doha Round, permanent solution to the food security issue and protection to farmers from sudden surge in imports in the forthcoming meeting of the WTO at Nairobi this month.

Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said that many developed countries want to "stonewall" the issues which are already on the table and want to introduce new ones.

She said that there is an effort now to introduce new issues on the table and try to expand the mandate without addressing the issues which are already under discussion.

India would focus on four main issues, including stock-piling for food security, at the WTO's Ministerial Conference to be held in Nairobi from December 15-18.

"What we are looking at Nairboi are...The Doha Round must not be abandoned at Nairobi. Its true that we have rough patches, there are difficulties. But it is inevitable in a body as large as this...What we would look for is to consolidate what we have achieved so far and then move forward.

"The other issue is permanent solution on public stock-holding for food security. This is an issue which large number of countries have an interest," she said.

The Secretary said in the WTO's Bali meeting, peace clause was only an interim solution and "it is not a final outcome and certainly this issue remains on the table at present".

The third issue which is important for India and other developing countries is protecting the interest of poor and subsistence farmers.

"The Doha Round did raise the expectation that their will be significant reduction in trade distorting subsidies and these would be achieved through negotiations. This is certainly which we will work towards.

"It is not a secret that many of the developed countries do have the capacity to provide targeted subsidies to their agriculture sector and consequences of these targeted subsidies are felt by many people in developing countries," Teaotia said.

The Secretary said that the opportunity for removal or reduction of these subsidies and to rectify this distortion is certainly something that is afforded and "we should look at it".

She added that it is difficult for developed countries to reduce subsidies to their farmers, so in this context "we need policy instruments to protect our farmers from the surge in imports of subsidised agricultural products or sharp dip in import prices of agri commodities".

The G-33 group which includes India and Indonesia have been at the forefront in demanding the "special safeguard mechanism" which provided the right to deal with the sudden surge in imports, the Secretary said.

Lastly, she said that a package for least developed countries too is very important which India will look at the Nairobi meeting of the WTO.

Teaotia said that India has already eliminated duty on 98 percent of the products it trade globally for least developed countries (LDCs) and now it is the time for other countries to show generosity.

On the Nairobi WTO meeting, she said: "We are not very clear on the exact contours of what is on the table as are going into the negotiations at WTO".

"What big thing that is confronting the entire world community before we reach Nairobi is what is the future of the Doha Round. This is one of the balanced rounds of trade negotiations ever attempted," she added.

She said that as many as 100 countries including the G33 , Africa Group, Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of Countries have articulated their views to preserve the Doha Round and there is a consensus on this issue atleast.

"More than 100 countries are there who are say that the Doha Development agenda certainly needs to be the foundation stone on which we go forward," she added.

The Doha Round of negotiations launched in 2001 have remained stalled since July 2008 due to differences between the rich and the developing nations mainly over the subsidies given to farmers.

India has clearly expressed that the Doha mandate should not be re-opened; nor should there be any cherry-picking of issues from the Doha Development Agenda or introduction of new issues that only served the commercial interests of a few developed countries.

"We have one group of countries who appears to be stonewalling the engagement on substantive negotiations on the issues," she said adding that "there is an effort now to introduce new issues on the table and try to expand the mandate without addressing the issue which are already on the table".