“It is absolutely essential for us to protect the livelihood concerns of subsistence farmers. Therefore, provisions like Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism are indispensable,” Commerce Secretary Gopal Pillai told PTI here.

The Doha negotiations to open world market should allow developing countries to retain their policy space for protecting their nascent industries. It is important that ministers participating in the meeting send a strong signal on correcting distortions in global economy and show their willingness to improve the condition of global trade. Mr Pillai said India expects ministers would be able to restore the balance between agriculture and Non-Agricultural Market Access (industrial goods) in the next few days and move ahead in other areas.

Critical imbalances

In a statement to the Trade Negotiating Committee, India stressed that talks must address the critical imbalances in agriculture and industrial goods, besides delivering on the specific nature of the development dimension of the Round.

The unfinished agenda of trade reforms, primarily reduction of trade distorting support which has affected the livelihood of million of farmers in developing countries, needs to be significantly taken forward, Mr Pillai, who is representing Commerce & Industry Minister Kamal Nath at the WTO Ministerial Meeting, said.

On European Union’s offer that it was willing to slash farm tariffs by 60 per cent as part of a new global trade pact, Mr Pillai said there is nothing new in the offer. “It is old. Percentages can be cut in averages or average cut. One cannot cut tariffs from two per cent to zero and say that he has made 100 per cent cut. We are looking at real average cuts,” he said.

He cautioned that in the absence of any strong signal from developed countries on opening market for services at the ‘Signalling Conference’ scheduled later in the week, it will be difficult for India to “sustain its enthusiasm” while negotiating the agriculture and NAMA modalities.

On rules, India said it has not received a revised text that addresses the imbalance in anti-dumping and fisheries subsidies in the present text. India along with China and Indonesia has tabled a draft text for a Ministerial decision.

RECONCILIATORY MOVE

US offers to cut ceiling  on farm sops to $15 b

Geneva, reuters: The US, on Tuesday, said it is ready to cut its ceiling for trade-distorting farm subsidies to $15 billion a year to help unblock talks for a global trade deal, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said.
The long-awaited offer was contingent on other partners at the WTO making offers to open up their markets for agricultural and industrial goods, Ms Schwab said.

The US has come under pressure to announce a ceiling for its farm subsidies, a key part of WTO’s long-delayed Doha round of negotiations for a global trade deal. Ms Schwab was speaking to reporters on the second day of a week of talks at the WTO in Geneva to seek a breakthrough on core elements of a Doha deal.