The fresh World Trade Organization proposals on agriculture for negotiating a global deal to cut tariffs are likely to have India's backing, as they provide protection to the farmers of the developing countries.
The meeting has been convened to conclude modalities in the Doha Development Agenda for Agriculture and Market Access for Industrial Goods. Lamy had called on Nath to inform him about the meeting and press the commerce minister to attend the meeting at any cost.
Although countries like India and Brazil were not part of the just concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, there is a commitment from leaders of the two nations to see the Doha Round modalities done by the end of this year, Dan Price, assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs, said in a briefing en route to Andrews Air Force Base at the conclusion of the APEC meeting in Peru.
Ahead of the crucial World Trade Organisation General Council meeting in Geneva next week, India on Saturday said it would not compromise on food security and livelihood concerns and demanded substantial changes in the draft framework to make it acce
Adverse IPR report expected this week;Poor labelling could take fight to WTO
Earlier in the year, Modi government had moved WTO against the US imposing higher fee for applicants seeking two categories of non-immigrant temporary working visas
The United States is committed to move the multilateral trade talks forward this year but India, China and Brazil need to contribute to a positive outcome of the World Trade Organisation negotiations, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab has said.
India will be represented by Union Divestment Minister Arun Shourie in the informal World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting convened by US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick
The World Trade Organisation General Council is likely to meet in the third week of July to consider the Framework on Agriculture.
The world's No 2 venture capitalist says he supports outsourcing and urges India to use WTO rules to protect it from protectionist attacks in the US
India has consistently demanded that about 8 per cent of farm tariff lines to be exempted from the tariff reduction commitments while 12 per cent of tariff lines to be subjected to a minimum cut below 10 per cent. The United States, Australia, Uruguay, Thailand and Malaysia, however, vehemently opposed India's demands during what are called the Walk in Woods meetings convened by the chair for Doha agriculture negotiations Ambassador Crawford Falconer last week.
Britain on Thursday said it was unlikely that the next World Trade Organisation Ministerial will be held this year, indicating that completion of the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations will miss the deadline of January 01, 2005.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that international travel should be made easier through mutual recognition of vaccine certificates, amid several countries adopting different sets of rules to allow foreigners to enter their territory in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
India's trade envoy, Ambassador Ujal Singh Bhatia, issued a strong notice that if there is no third revised text which fully addresses the grave lacunae as well as developmental deficiencies in the latest draft, it would be difficult for members to enter into horizontal meetings that WTO chief Pascal Lamy wants to convene next month.
The US steel industry has urged the Bush Administration to defy the WTO ruling and continue protection for it despite the certainty that the EU and other countries may retaliate if the US does not comply.
A visibly elated Sharma said the decision gave India complete protection even if it breached the food subsidy limit under WTO rules
The NCP, AIADMK and a number of political parties have welcomed the joint proposal on agriculture presented to the WTO by a coalition of developing countries including India, China and 10 members of the Cairns group as a positive development.
Hitting out at the developed nations for their attitude towards the World Trade Organisation negotiations, India on Monday warned against the Doha round being hijacked by the European Union and the United States.
Divestment Minister Arun Shourie will lead the Indian delegation to the two-day World Trade Organisation mini-ministerial in Montreal beginning on Monday, which would try to narrow down differences on contentious issues.
India's Food Security Act entitles 82 crore people to 5 kg of foodgrains per person a month at Rs 1-3 per kg.
The chair for Doha agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Crawford Falconer, circulated the working documents on different elements of the market-access pillar that include the treatment of special farm products.
Chance of an accord in global trade talks suffered another setback following India's Union minister Kamal Nath terated that the country will not compromise on its stand on agriculture market access in the WTO's Doha round of talks.
WTO's new director has said that the issue needs to be addressed in a positive manner.
State newspaper, China Daily, said in a report the US ban violated Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement, that mandates how governments can apply food safety, animal and plant health measures, as well as most-favored-nation treatment and general elimination of quantitative restrictions provided under the WTO framework.
'India-China economic ties are likely to take a hit in the wake of the new situation, but that also provides India with a new opportunity to strengthen its manufacturing base,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
Over the past three years, the US has provided India every opportunity to remove restrictive and unfair marketplace requirements.
Anand Sharma, who will lead the delegation to Bali, said a group of 33 countries were supporting India's stand on the food subsidy programme which he said was 'sacrosanct, non- negotiable.'
The Doha Round of talks of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) faces a new challenge and if some statements emanating after the General Council meeting on July 25 at Geneva are to be taken at face value, this could derail the process of trade liberalisation through a multilateral route for some time.
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.
The United States 'is leading the world in the use of compulsory licenses, and is hypocritical in voicing indignance when developing countries issue compulsory licenses for essential drugs,' Washington-based Knowledge Ecology International, with its offices in Geneva, has alleged.
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