We are discussing MSP, not Food Security Agreement at WTO: Sharma

Says India's stand on the food subsidy programme is sacrosanct, non-negotiable

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma today said that the government is engaged in negotiating the food subsidies given in the form of administered price or minimum support price (MSP) to the farmers at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and that is not linked to the recently announced National Food Security Act (FSA).

“What we give to our poor people is our right and that is insulated from any multilateral negotiations. What we are negotiating in Bali is the price we give to the farmers as MSP,” Sharma told reporters here apprising of the decision taken in the Cabinet Committee on WTO-related matters that was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

He added that India's stand on the food subsidy programme was "sacrosanct, non-negotiable."  

Sharma said that the government has agreed to the interim measure or the ‘Peace Clause’ that has emerged from technical-level negotiations at the WTO headquarters in Geneva.

He, however, added that India will not agree only to a four-year solution and that the arrangement should continue until a permanent solution is completely achieved.

He added that in the upcoming WTO ninth Ministerial Conference (MC9) that is taking place next week, India will strongly take up the issue of forwarding the external reference price (ERP) based on which the food subsidies of WTO member countries are calculated from 1986-88 to a more recent date in the 21st century.

“The ERP is based on prices of 1986-88 at present in WTO. Therefore, the developing countries have been persisting with the demand that this needs to be corrected because since then the prices, including the MSP, for procurement of food grains of public stockholding has gone up many-folds in multiples , ” Sharma said.  

The government has also decided to raise the number of tariff lines to 96 per cent which will be offered duty-free access to the least developed countries (LDC). The decision will be notified soon.    

The WTO MC9 will be meeting from December 3-6 at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre. The MC9 is the highest decision making body in the WTO.