A day after commerce and industry minister Murasoli Maran's broadside at the World Trade Organisation, deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Najma Heptulla, on Sunday warned that the speed with which the globalisation is being rushed could lead to a loss of national sovereignty. ''An impression prevails that as a process, globalisation has been mainly business-driven, by business strategies, for business ends,'' Heptulla said at the opening of the parliamentary meeting on the occasion of the Doha ministerial conference. ''Often it leads to a loss of national sovereignty and restricts the efforts and ability of legislators to regulate issues that are seen as beyond the scope of national legislatures,'' she added. Heptulla is the president of the 140-member council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Minister of state for commerce and industry Rajiv Pratap Rudy represented India at the IPU meeting. Legislators from 30 countries are attending this meeting which will give important inputs for the final declaration of the conference. Heptullah said that from the political point of view globlisation poses a profound challenge to democracy, in general, and to parliaments, in particular.
''National monitoring by parliaments, of international agreements negotiated by governments, especially in the area of trade, is of vital importance to the future of democracy. Parliaments worldwide want to see a more open, equitable, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system,'' she said. The Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson said that the current multilateral trading system is seen as biased in favour of developed countries. ''Implementation of the Uruguay round results remain a problem for many developing countries,'' she pointed out.
She said that parliaments should take an active interest in trade negotiations and help to shape policy pertaining to international trade and to develop their respective governments' negotiating positions.
Bureau Report