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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | India seeks more time for trade deal -Dilasha Seth

India seeks more time for trade deal -Dilasha Seth

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published Published on Jul 25, 2014   modified Modified on Jul 25, 2014
-The Economic Times


NEW DELHI: India is likely to push for an extension of the July 31 deadline for signing of trade facilitation protocol to get its food security concerns addressed in the meantime. The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take the final call on India's stand on the Bali package on Thursday.

India has said that it will not sign the protocol of the trade facilitation pact till there was tangible progress on the food security agenda of the developing countries.

"July 31, 2014 is not a deadline cast in stone. The ratification is open till July next year. Once the protocol is adopted, each country starts ratifying it and start implementing the trade facilitation agreement. So even if date is shifted to say October or December 2014, ratification process will still be open for members till July 2015", said a government official.Once two third of the members ratify the agreement only then trade facilitation comes into force.African countries and a few Latin American countries have backed India on its food security agenda push, while China is silent on it.India has strongly opposed the process of implementation of the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Bali agreements which include trade facilitation agreement (TFA), permanent solution on India's public stock holding of foodgrains for its food security programme and issues pertaining to least developed countries (LDCs).

On international pressure and allegations over India blocking the deal, the official said, "We are only putting a condition that we do not accept it in the present form unless you deliver on other elements of Bali too.. This is not blocking", he said.

India and African nations have been citing para 47 of the Doha Decelaration for single undertaking of all issues agreed at Bali, or if implemented earlier it may only be on a provisional basis."Go ahead and implement provisionally, we will see if you deliver on public stockholding or not. If your intentions are alright, then there would be no problem", said the official.

The official cited earlier refuted suggestions that India was blocking the trade facilitation deal. "We only want to preserve the linkage between trade facilitation and food security. We are saying it needs to be delivered as a package," the official said, The G-33 countries, a group of developing nations want a complete exclusion of subsidies given on account of public stockholding programmes from the category of actionable subsidies at the WTO.This will require amendment to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture to allow countries to procure food grain from poor farmers at minimum support price and sell to poor people at subsidised price through public distribution system.

The current WTO norms limits the value of food subsidies at 10% of the total value of food grain production.

However, the support is calculated at the prices that are over two decades old and not at the current prices.

On Tuesday, WTO director general Roberto Azevedo announced support for LDCs and developing countries for implementation of the trade facilitation agreement.

However, government officials said that it was insignificant since it did not promise any monetary support, but instead on technical support. "It is completely insignificant.. Only technical support and capacity building and no money", the official said.

"In US, only 24000 farmers are getting cotton subsidy and still they are not able to change their subsidy programme, and have increased it instead of reducing it. What happened to their commitment?", the official added.The WTO general council meeting will take place on Thursday coinciding with India's cabinet decision to discuss various issues related to the Bali package.

"Developing country and LDC members of the WTO are correct to demand that the TFA only enters into force upon completion of the single undertaking under the Doha Work Programme, and particularly the fulfillment of its Development mandate", said the letter by 217 global civil society and trade unions from over 150 countries to the WTO member countries and ambassadors.


The Economic Times, 24 July, 2014, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-07-24/news/51982219_1_facilitation-public-stockholding-programmes-food-security


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