Swadeshi Jagran Manch hails India's stand at WTO

Lauding India's stand at the WTO Ministerial conference in Buenos Aires, an RSS outfit today hoped Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu will maintain it at the negotiations table as well.
Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an organisation affiliated to the RSS, also condemned the statement of US Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Emmet Lighthizer at the WTO that countries are seeking pass in the name of 'self-proclaimed development' status, including India.
"The world is not a homogenous mix of demography. There has to be a differential application of rules, depending on the well being of the economies.
"It is quite arrogant of the US administration of believing that countries are seeking pass in the name of 'self-proclaimed development' status, indicating that five of the six richest countries in the world presently 'claim' developing country status. This list includes India," said Ashwani Mahajan, co-convener of the SJM, who is attending the WTO meeting in Buenos Aires.

He said the US must realise that the level of development is not the same and in the days to come, SJM would ask the US administration to come clean on these charges.
The SJM said the WTO must not abandon its commitments made in Doha Development Agenda as it strongly believes that the outcome of expansion of global trade must be development and back Indias push for re-endorsement of the same.

India toughened its stand on the need for a permanent solution to the public stockholding of food, saying that failing to achieve it at the WTO's ongoing 11th ministerial meeting here would impact the credibility of the multilateral trade institution.

The Indian team led by Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu is slated to meet trade ministers of the member countries and director general of WTO to re-emphasis that the permanent solution to food stockpile issue was a "must have" at the ministerial.
"India has emphasised that permanent solution was a must have and should be an improvement over the Peace Clause (agreed at Bali)... If not delivered, it would affect the credibility of the WTO," said J S Deepak, India's Ambassador to WTO.
The SJM also appreciated the minister's stand on pushing for a permanent solution on the public stockholding for food security purposes.

"We strongly believe that the outcome of the expansion of global trade must be development, and back India's push for re-endorsement of the same," SJM's Mahajan said.
He also said Pabhu's statement is in alignment with the SJMs thoughts and extended full support in him.
"SJM expect the minister to maintain this stand on the table of negotiations as well," he said, adding that the commence minister articulated the desires and needs of not only those living at the bottom of pyramid back home, but also those in the developing and poor countries.
SJM also believes that for developing countries like India, it is a matter of survival for 800 million hungry and under-nourished people across the world.

"Instead aggregate measure of support extended by the developed countries is creating trade distortion and is harming the farmers in developing countries," he said.