Resolution Of Issues Related To Implementation Stressed

Implementation-related concerns should be resolved without being linked to any new round of negotiations, stated Nripendra Mishra, special secretary, WTO, ministry of commerce and industry, in an interview to WTO Watch, a CII publication. The implementation-related concerns of the developing countries are a legacy of the Uruguay Round of Agreements which are tilted against the developing countries, he said. Also, the developing countries have taken onerous obligation during the Uruguay Round without commensurate benefits, he added and therefore, these concerns should be resolved without linking them to any new round of negotiations, he added.

India, he said, has categorically stated that the work programme on the resolution of implementation-related concerns of the developing countries should receive the top-most priority for the present.

Dispelling the perception of some people that India will gain more by pushing the implementation issues into a new round, Mishra stated that any new and enhanced work programme in WTO should be adopted only after there is a full convergence of views among the entire WTO membership and its predictability in terms of scope and range of commitments.

Such a convergence can come about only if implementation issues are resolved satisfactorily and contentious non-trade issues are kept off the table, stated Mishra.

Elaborating on India