The Hindu : Business : No compromise on agriculture, India tells WTO

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 28, 2004

Business

Business

No compromise on agriculture, India tells WTO

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 27. Taking a tough stand at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), India has categorically said that it would not compromise on agricultural issues as it would affect livelihood concerns of millions of farmers, most of whom were at the level of bare subsistence.

The Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, articulated the Indian position during his meeting with the WTO Director-General, Supachai Panitchpakdi, in Geneva. Mr. Nath pointed out that developed countries should understand that in agriculture, India was battling not so much for trade but for subsistence. "We cannot compromise on subsistence, risking in the process social and economic upheavals,'' the Minister said, according to reports available from the Commerce and Industry Ministry here.

Mr. Nath also made it clear that an inequitous framework would not be acceptable to India. He also said that for developing countries like India no agreement would be better than a bad agreement that lacked balance and equity. The framework agreement that the WTO is trying to hammer out would form the basis for further negotiations.

During the discussions, Mr. Nath said the core issue was that of market access which could not be granted unless the parallel issue of artificial global prices based on heavy subsidy by the developed countries was also addressed. ``One is a trading constituency and the other is a subsistence constituency with meagre land holdings. These are two different constituencies. And subsistence cannot be a subject of negotiations,'' he said. The principles of special and differential treatment and the issue of effective cut in domestic support by the developed countries--and not just shifting subsidies from the amber box to the blue box--would be important in ensuring a balanced text, the Minister said.

Mr. Nath also reiterated India's commitment to continued constructive engagement with its trading partners to seek an outcome which would be acceptable to all and would take on board the diverse concerns of all WTO member countries.

According to Ministry reports, the WTO Director-General indicated that an improved text, addressing some of concerns outlined by the Minister, was likely by Wednesday.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business