Farm Ministry Accepts Import Curbs Phaseout

A major stumbling block to the removal of quantitative res-trictions on imports has been removed, with a recent agriculture ministry report accepting the inevitability of such a step.

The ministry has recommended a phase-out period for import curbs on various agricultural commodities.

The recommended phase-out period varies from over five years for some agricultural commodities to as little as a year for others, said sources.

India had been unable to submit a phase-out period for its quantitative restrictions on imports in January, due to objections by Union agriculture minister Chaturanan Mishra.

Mishra had then set up a committee to examine the possible removal of such curbs, which included former commerce secretary A V Ganesan and agricultural expert Ashok Gulati. The draft report submitted by the committee is presently being circulated, said sources.

Having obtained the consent of the agriculture ministry, the commerce ministry is now planning to approach the cabinet once again to seek its final approval. The new cabinet note will incorporate the suggestions of the agricultural ministry committee.

Meanwhile, various countries including Australia, Japan and the US are conducting bilateral negotiations with India on the issue of removal of quantitative restrictions. An Australian delegation visited India to conduct talks on the issue last week, while a Japanese team held negotiations on April 22-23 in the capital.

A recent press release by the Japanese government has called upon India to disinvoke its balance-of-payments provision and eliminate import restrictions by end-1999.

Significantly, the release specifies that Japan does not consider the liberalisation of imports by shifting items to the special import licences list as an elimination of restrictions as defined in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement.

Earlier, European Union officials had warned that the memorandum of understanding route being followed by the commerce ministry for car manufacturers may also be unacceptable under WTO norms.

An Indian team was expected to go to Washington around April 15-18 for another round of bilateral talks.

However, the trip was postponed owing to the prevalent political uncertainty and no new dates have yet been set.

One round of talks has already taken place with the European Union, with another slated to begin next month.

These bilateral talks are expected to be followed by multilateral talks with interested WTO members, in preparation of the forthcoming formal WTO consultations in June.