Karnataka - Mangalore   

BJP criticises WTO declaration

Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE: The Dakshina Kannada District Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expressed displeasure over failure of Union Minister for Commerce Kamal Nath to extract assurances on reduction of agricultural subsidies of developed countries at the recently concluded World Trade Organisation meet. The BJP has said Mr. Nath has let down Indian farmers at the meet. A press release from Nalin Kumar, general secretary of the party here on Thursday, said the former Union Minister Arun Jaitley had successfully withstood the same pressure by these developed countries at the previous WTO conference held at Cancun in Mexico in 2003. Mr. Jaitley had successfully formed an alliance with countries such as Brazil to take on these countries.

He saidthe country expected Mr. Kamal Nath to insist that developed countries stop giving subsidies to agriculture by 2010. Instead, the Minister surrendered by agreeing to a proposal by the EU to extend it to 2013.

This will lead to developed nations dumping their agriculture products in developing countries such as India, he said. Our farmers will find it difficult to compete with farmers of developed nations, he added.

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