The outcome of the WTO meet at Bali without addressing the concerns of developing countries including India on issues like food security plan would erode the credibility of the multi-lateral body, industry body CII said on Sunday.
"Any outcome sans a good development package, including adequate safeguards for developing countries to run their food security programme, will erode the credibility of the WTO with regard to its development objective under the Doha Round," CII Director General Chandrajeet Banerjee said in a statement.
Even after 12 years, developed and developing nations were not able to bridge their differences over agricultural subsidies and tariff reduction on industrial goods.
The talks for a global trade deal started in the Qatari capital in 2001. India is demanding amendment in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, under which farm subsidy is capped at 10 per cent.
India is apprehensive that it may breach the cap while implementing its food security plan. Under the plan, government would provide wheat and rice at cheap rates to poor people.
Calling for an ambitious but balanced outcome at the Ministerial meeting of the WTO, he said that the three pillars identified for an agreement are agriculture, trade facilitation and development.
"Indian industry has great expectations from the meeting to restore the credibility of the WTO as a strong multilateral platform to advocate free and fair rules on global trade," he added. He said that a positive outcome will also help build greater market access opportunities for industry globally.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) would help in reducing transaction costs and help make industry more competitive.
As huge investments are required to comply with the TFA conditions, CII said that there is a need to set up a mandatory global funding mechanism that will meet additional costs for developing or least developed countries (LDCs) for meeting obligations they undertake at Bali.
Comments
0 comment