Less chances of a deal if demands not addressed: India's ambassador to WTO
Premium- India’s demands on the proposal aims to curb subsidies on fisheries
- India is also seeking a permanent solution on public stockholding to ensure higher farm support
Geneva (Switzerland): The chances of an outcome at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) would dim if India's demands are not addressed, said India’s ambassador Brajendra Navnit, ahead of the 12th ministerial conference starting in Geneva on Sunday. He urged the developed countries to bring something credible on the table as the negotiations kick-start on four broad themes- food security and agriculture, fisheries subsidies, TRIPS waiver on vaccines and pandemic response, and customs duty on e-transmission.
“If we do not get what we would like to have in the agreement, there may be less chances of getting to a consensus. Developed countries have to understand that they have to bring something credible to the table as they are the bigger players and have given subsidies over the years," said Navnit, referring to India’s demands on the proposal that aims to curb subsidies on fisheries. “We will strongly bat for levelling the playing field at the WTO as India has its interest in protecting the interests of its farmers and fishermen, and equitable supply of goods and services in the country," added Navnit.
Amid sharp divergences, the developed and the developing countries are set for a face off towards a consensus on key issues during the four-days of hectic talks in Geneva. Arriving in the morning, India’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will participate in the session- “Challenges to the Multilateral Trading System" on Sunday and engage in thematic discussions on TRIPS waiver on covid-19 vaccines, and food security on Monday. Fisheries and agriculture issues will be discussed by the 164 member countries on Tuesday, followed by a discussion on WTO reforms and extension of moratorium on customs duty e-transmission on Wednesday.
WTO is a 164-member multilateral body that formulates rules for global exports and imports and adjudicates disputes between countries on trade-related issues. India is a member since 1995.
While India is seeking a permanent solution on public stockholding to ensure higher farm support for its resource poor farmers, the draft agreement on agriculture suggested that the matter has been deferred to the next ministerial meeting and only the Work Programme on that will be decided in the ongoing ministerial.
However, India’s ambassador insisted that India’s proposal floated by the G-33 and African nations was very much on the table and India will press for a permanent solution on the issue in the current ministerial meeting itself.
“WTO is a members driven organisation and not driven by the WTO secretariat or the chairs. The draft texts are circulated by the chairs of those programmes or circulated by the WTO secretariat. For the public stockholding issue, we will negotiate on the proposal submitted by India. It is 80 countries of the world comprising 2/3rd of the world population. Indian proposal is very much on the table and for ministers to consider," said Navnit.
India along with the G-33 grouping and African nations had jointly floated a proposal on the issue that would give them flexibility to give out higher farm support. India has proposed calculation of subsidies in a more relevant and acceptable way, that is fair and would give a level playing field to developing countries. It has recommended adjusting for excessive inflation the 'external reference price' to arrive at the minimum support price ceiling of 10% of the total value of production of the crop currently allowed under the WTO rules. This support is currently calculated at the 1986-88 prices. The other option proposes taking a three year average price of the crop based on the preceding five year period excluding the highest and the lowest entry for that product. It has also demanded that subsidy calculations should be based on actual procurement and not on all eligible production.
The negotiations on agriculture for MC12 in Geneva are taking place based on three broad agendas– draft declaration on trade and food security, exemption of export restrictions on world food programme (WFP) purchases, and a text on decisions on agriculture.
India is also demanding to allow exports from public food stocks for the purposes of international food aid, or for non-commercial humanitarian purposes including on a government to government basis. However, this has also not made it to the draft text agreement so far. The current WTO norms do not permit a member country to export food grains from public stockholdings as they are subsidised and can distort international trade.
India is also opposing an extension of a moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmission at WTO, giving the amount of revenue it is losing because of the 1998 agreement. WTO members had agreed not to impose customs duty on electronic transmission in 1998 and moratorium has been periodically extended at the ministerial conferences but several countries are seeking to make the moratorium permanent. Officials argued that since digital trade at present is dominated by big tech and developed countries, the moratorium squarely favours the developed nations. Meanwhile as per some estimated India loses about $500 million annually by foregoing duty on e-transmission.
India will also support developing countries to mount pressure on developed economies, especially the European Union, for patents waiver for Covid-19 vaccines, drugs and diagnostic devices to boost supplies to better fight the pandemic across the globe. The proposal–floated jointed by the Quad- India, South Africa, US and EU is facing resistance from the UK and Switzerland.
India will also seek expeditious restoration of the almost- dysfunctional appellate body of the WTO for dispute resolution, without diluting its core features. The appellate body of dispute settlement remains suspended over two years now after the US blocked the appointment of new nominees. New Delhi will also press that any reform agenda must be development-centric and bolster the provisions of special and differential treatment for poor and developing countries.
The Fisheries Subsidies proposal at the WTO aims to eliminate subsidies that contribute to overfishing, curb support for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and promote sustainable fishing. New Delhi is set to strongly oppose the proposal in the current form and is seeking a 25 years exemption from the proposed overfishing subsidy prohibitions as against seven years mentioned in the draft text, with the sector in India still at a nascent stage.