India tells WTO: Resolve issues before ministerial

In a three-page letter handed over to Lamy last week, a copy of which is provided to Business Standard, Nath struck "a note of caution" on numerous unresolved issues in agriculture, market-opening for industrial goods, services, rules, and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)-related issues as well as about the process to be adopted ahead of the ministerial meeting.

"For India," said Nath, there has to be much greater clarity on Special Products and the Special Safeguard Mechanism, underscoring the need for stabilising the architecture of these two measures soon in order to be reflected in the revised texts, "preferably with no square brackets".

India has consistently demanded that about 8 per cent of farm tariff lines to be exempted from the tariff reduction commitments while 12 per cent of tariff lines to be subjected to a minimum cut below 10 per cent.

The United States, Australia, Uruguay, Thailand and Malaysia, however, vehemently opposed India's demands during what are called the Walk in Woods meetings convened by the chair for Doha agriculture negotiations Ambassador Crawford Falconer last week.

Farm exporting countries have maintained that they would agree only for a limited flexibility on both the Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism, which allows India and other developing countries to impose safeguard duties on farm imports if they cross certain agreed thresholds.

"Rapid progress also needs to be made simultaneously on Tropical Products and Preference Erosion, Tariff capping, Tariff simplification, Green Box disciplines and Cotton [subsidies]", said Nath, arguing that "without closure on these issues it is open to debate as to what the ministers will be able to achieve."

Commenting on market access for industrial goods, Nath said "wide divergences still persist", pointing that "the question of two sets of coefficients, the concept of the sliding scale, preference erosion lists and anti-concentration provisions for the duty-free quota-free scheme are subjects which hold the potential to be divisive and needs to be addressed".

Commerce Minister warned Lamy that other issues