Developed nations should show flexibility on food security: CII

Industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Wednesday urged developed nations to show greater flexibility on the food security issue to ensure success of the global trade talks being held here.

"A balanced trade facilitation agreement at Bali needs to be supported by an effective post-Bali agenda that will help companies in India play a bigger role in global value chains," said Deep Kapuria, chairman of Hi-Tech Group of Companies and CII's SME (small and medium enterprises) Council.

Kapuria led the CII delegation which comprised of senior representatives from Tata Group, Aditya Birla Group and Maruti Udyog at the 9th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) being held here.

According to Kapuria, free flow of technology and movement of professionals, apart from better trade facilitation infrastructure will help developing countries like India to integrate into global value chain.

Earlier, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma addressing the session rejected the subsidy proposal in its present form at the global trade talks and said that food security was non-negotiable as it impacted four billion people worldwide and millions of farmers.

"For India, food security is non-negotiable," India's Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said risking yet another failure of the talks that were kicked off in Doha in 2001.

"Governments of all developing nations have a legitimate obligation and moral commitment toward food and livelihood security of hundreds of millions of their hungry and poor," the minister told the highest decision-making body of the consensus-based WTO.

At the core of the draft text is the clause on subsidies.

The Group of 33 developing countries, led by India, want the existing farm accord revised to allow them to exceed their subsidy levels beyond the cap of 10 percent of national output till such time a permanent solution is found.

The clause seeks to allow this but with a four-year cap.

"It (the text) is only temporary with no assurance of a permanent solution," Sharma said. "It (the peace clause) must remain in force till we reach a negotiated permanent solution and provide adequate protection from all kinds of challenges."

The issue is one of the key factors slowing the WTO's Doha Round of talks that were started in Qatar in 2001, seeking to overhaul the world trading system by setting a global framework of rules and pulling down barriers.

However, protectionist disputes between rich and poor countries -- as well as the WTO's insistence that any accord be unanimous -- has kept a deal elusive

Meanwhile, WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo in his briefing to media said that there has been a near consensus on trade facilitation text, except on few issues.