The Hindu : Business : Industry views sought on WTO issues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 31, 2004

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Business

Industry views sought on WTO issues

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUG. 30. Indian industry should come out expeditiously with its response and suggestions on matters relating to the agenda of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) following the Geneva meeting of its General Council as also on issues being negotiated by India under bilateral and regional trade agreements (RTAs), according to the Joint Secretary (Trade Policy) in the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, R. Gopalan.

For instance, he pointed out, the ministry has prepared (and published in its website) a list of 105 items for exchange of tariff concessions with the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) under an early harvest scheme and the Government needed feedback from Indian industries before finalising the list.

Industry should also convey its views on the rules of origin (or local content requirement) to be stipulated in regional and bilateral trade agreements, including with Thailand (for other products than the 182 already covered by the early harvest programme), ASEAN and the MERCOSUR grouping and the comprehensive economic cooperation agreement with Singapore. RTAs, he said, were "building blocks" of global trade liberalisation.

Addressing a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday, Mr Gopalan said though the Geneva meeting in July had reached a framework agreement on the modalities of negotiations to be held in the coming months, the harder task for India's negotiators lay ahead. It had been agreed in Geneva that export credit of more than 180 days would be eliminated in the agricultural sector but in respect of credit of less than 180 days, negotiations would have to decide what were "trade distorting aspects," including in insurance and guarantees. He expressed concern over the fact that the framework agreement on agriculture did not even mention the term "non-tariff barriers (NTBs)", though NTBs had been dealt with in the case of non-agricultural market access (NAMA) or industrial tariffs.

Stressing the likely increase in NTBs to industrial products in developed countries where the tariffs were already at a low level, he said Indian industry should participate in meetings of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) to ensure that the nation's interests were not ignored in the fixing of standards.

Replying to questions, he said discriminatory taxes on imports were against the principle of national treatment embodied in the WTO, irrespective of whether such taxes were imposed by States or panchayats or any other sub-national entity.

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