India will press for review and conclusion of Uruguay Round mandated
agenda and oppose injection of new issues and overloading of WTO at
the crucial 4th Ministerial Conference in November. This was stated
by Mr. Digvijay Singh, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry while
addressing the Seminar jointly organised by FICCI and Consumer Unity
& Trust Society (CUTS) on “Reflections on Doha Ministerial of WTO: Issues
and Options” in the capital on 27th August, 2001.
India would press for giving policy direction to the mandated agenda;
review implementation issues which have been resolved in terms of General
council decision of May, 2000 and address major current issues like
TRIPS and public health. Any move to inject further issues runs the
risk of overloading agenda and would make it unsustainable.
No prima facie case has been established on the necessity or relevance
of the proposed new issues into WTO framework; nor is it cogently shown
that the developing countries are going to definitely benefit from negotiations
in new areas. On the contrary, it is rather clear that taking up new
issues would result in additional obligations for them. The main category
of new issues being pushed into the WTO agenda includes international
investment rules, competition policy, transparency in government procurement,
global coherence, trade facilitation, industrial tariffs, environment
and the like.
Mr. Digvijay Singh said that previous commitments of Uruguay Round had
not been fulfilled by developed nations. Due to the backloaded nature
of the integration of restrained textile items and due to the perpetuation
of restrained textile items and due to the perpetuation of trade distorting
domestic and export subsidies coupled with high tariffs and tariff escalation
in agriculture by the developed countries, the expected market access
have never materialised. There are several asymmetries and inequities
in several of the Agreements including those relating to antidumping,
subsidies, intellectual property, TRIMs and the non-realisation of expected
benefits which are a matter of serious concern. On the one hand, India
has eliminated all kinds of quantitative restrictions and is progressively
reducing tariff levels; on the other, trade barriers imposed by the
developed countries are becoming more and more impregnable.
Mr. Nripendra Misra, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce said
that India will play a proactive role with regard to TRIPs Agreements
on agriculture, and movement of natural persons. However, India would
seek a timeframe for competition policy since it has not yet put in
place the required domestic legislation. The single lined undertaking
is “you accept all or you do not accept anything”, said Mr Mishra.
Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Secretary, Economic Affairs Department, All India
Congress Committee stated that India is the only major country so far
to have taken a public stance opposing the new round. It is possible
that the government has taken a public position of strident opposition
keeping in mind domestic political compulsions. He reiterated that the
new round was inevitable and the exact agenda has yet to be worked out
and undoubtedly the process of finalizing that agenda will prove acrimonious.
India’s interest is best served by its being in a position to influence
the agenda. That position of being able to influence the agenda to reflect
our concerns, will accrue to us only if we are seen as being constructive
and only if we take a proactive approach of support to the very idea
of a new round. This choice is stark – either we get ourselves in a
position where we can influence the agenda or we prepare ourselves to
get in reluctantly and as protestors, concluded Mr Ramesh.
Mr.
Digvijay Singh said that previous commitments of Uruguay Round had not
been fulfilled by developed nations.
