India wants WTO to play its role in containing global inflation

India wants the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to play its role in containing global inflation, which is impacting most of the economies of the member countries.

According to a statement by India, delivered by Ambassador Permanent Representative to the WTO, Brajendra Navnit, the topmost priority for the global trade body should be the revival of the economy and sustain the growth post-pandemic and during a conflict situation.

"The present situation has got a new important problem...and that problem is the increasing inflation in most of the domestic economies.

"These are getting transmitted through food, fertiliser, and fuel crisis and it is going to devastate the economy. It is going to wipe out a lot of gains which were made before pandemic...," he has said.

The statement was delivered on May 4 during an informal meeting of trade negotiations committee (TNC) and head of delegations (HoDs).

For MC12 (12th ministerial conference), "we think that the WTO has a role to play to take care of these important problems," he added.

India, he said, is looking forward to a successful MC that will deliver on the critical issues which the world is confronting including the current food crisis and the ongoing pandemic.

The 12th ministerial conference, the highest decision-making body of the WTO, is scheduled to meet on June 12-15 in Geneva.

On food security, he said India is appealing to the members that there is a need to find ways and means to support the efforts of countries that are in a position to help others through distributions from their stocks during the current food crisis.

"And we should not link this in any manner to the ongoing deadlock in negotiations in the agricultural sector on WTO's response to the pandemic which includes both IP (intellectual property) and non-IP agenda," he added.

On the TRIPs (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver proposal to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, he said it should be one of the key deliverables for MC12.

"For us, an outcome on this proposal needs to be immediately doable, practical and one that ensures the security of supply and equitable and affordable access," he said.

On the proposed agreement on fisheries subsidies, he said India has demanded that a full discussion should be held on distant water fishing at the technical level and it should not be left for political discussion at the minister's level.