Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Gopal K Pillai said the agriculture text proposals on the special safeguard mechanism were not acceptable to India. A country can use the SSM to impose up to 50 per cent additional import duty on farm products which have seen a surge in imports.
Earlier this year, the US accused India and China of exceeding the WTO limits on farm subsidies, saying these caused trade distortion.
Late last month, India torpedoed a deal to simplify, standardise and streamline the rules for shipping goods across borders, know as 'trade facilitation', after it demanded concessions on agricultural stockpiling.
Through these actions at the WTO, the United States is seeking the prompt provision of detailed information and data from China and India regarding the operation of these subsidy programmes, the USTR said.
Trade ministers of the Group of Six (G-6) countries resolved on Thursday to conclude the six-year-old Doha Round of trade talks by the end of the year.
According to a senior commerce department official, though India is ready to sign the TFA and take necessary actions towards that, it is imperative that a discussion on public stockholding gets its due importance.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who took the initiative of hosting the informal meeting of important countries and blocs like the US, European Union, Brazil, China and Australia, remained busy today with officials. While it is being seen as a bold step by India to re-energise the Doha talks after they collapsed at Geneva in July 2008, New Delhi is consciously keeping the pitch low so as not to raise expectations from the meeting on Thursday and Friday.
The change of mind among Indian experts is based on a recent decision of the UK high court.
As attempts are stepped up to "steamroll" World Trade Organization (WTO) members to agree to a package of commitments in the Doha trade negotiations by Wednesday, it's time to assess what India is going to secure in agriculture, market-opening for industrials, services and other areas.
Russia on Monday said it will not join the World Trade Organisation this year and is unlikely to join the global trade body next year.
India decided last week not to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement.
At the 9th review of the US trade policy regime, many members -- China, Norway, Thailand, the European Union, among others -- sharply criticised Washington for not adopting WTO-consistent policies in several areas.
While an official in the Commerce Department indicated a trade war was in the offing, till now the government has been in wait-and-watch mode.
With the Bali deal settled, countries should now focus on long pending issues such as market access and reduction in green goods tariff
In a major trade victory for India and several other countries, the World Trade Organisation has held as violation of global trade rules a controversial USlaw allowing American companies to collect more than $470 million
A last-ditch attempt to rescue the Doha round of world trade talks is likely to be made towards the end of July at a Geneva meeting of 30 trade ministers from among the 150-member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The BRICS nations on Friday underlined the need for using local currencies in international trade and financial transactions besides committing themselves to supporting rule-based open and transparent global trade. A joint statement issued at the end of the meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, also pressed for a robust Global Financial Safety Net with a quota-based and adequately resourced International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its centre. It further said the process of IMF governance reform under the 16th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula as a guide, should be completed by December 15, 2023.
India believes rich nations should be away from farm subsidies.
The government on Monday said the progress in majority of the issues covered by the Doha Work Programme has been uneven
India has been opposing the pact as ITA will only benefit the country when its domestic manufacturing is robust.
Removal of this status means India can now enhance customs duties to any level on goods coming from Pakistan.
The US side had pushed for removal of price caps on medical equipment such as coronary stents and a commitment by India to reduce trade imbalance
According to the Morcha, the demands which Delhi Chalo has been called include: MSP should be guaranteed as per C2+50 percent formula and, as promised, a law should be made to guarantee it; all the farmers should be made debt free, and all agricultural loan must be waived.
Direct contacts between Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month helped to end a deadlock that had prevented the WTO from implementing a $1 trillion package of reforms.
The California walnuts shipped from the US to India have seen a sharp uptick with imports more than doubling from September to November against the same period last year. This comes after New Delhi removed its retaliatory customs tariffs on the key dry fruit. Two days ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit on September 9-10, India dropped additional customs duties on about half a dozen US goods that were imposed in 2019 in response to America raising tariffs on certain steel and aluminum products coming from India.
WTO's new director has said that the issue needs to be addressed in a positive manner.
India's export basket for Pakistan has a limited portfolio as Pakistan has not given 'most favoured nation' status to New Delhi and such goods have ready market in South Asia and the Middle East.
Says India stands to gain by setting up a level playing field instead of creating trade barriers
Industry bodies said India's move to grant the status to Pakistan had not made much of a difference as it was not reciprocated
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday (local time) said the US is working closely with its partners in the Indian government to deploy more supplies and additional support amid the record upsurge in Covid-19 infections in the country.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and held a productive conversation with him on deepening bilateral defence cooperation, including in the co-production of defence articles, and exchanged perspectives on a variety of security issues.
Out of India's total merchandise trade of $641 billion in 2015-16, Pakistan accounted for a meagre $2.67 billion
In an interview with Nayanima Basu, the DG lauds the efforts of Indian negotiators in bringing the deal on the table.
While India does not figure in the top 10 export destinations for Pakistani goods, it serves as a crucial channel for select goods such as leather hides and cheaper variants of fertilisers that are generally procured by importers at short notice.
India is not so keen to co-operate with the US on IPR related probe.
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