By Harbaksh Singh Nanda | August 21, 2001
NEW DELHI--Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said Aug. 20 India would oppose the launch of a new round of World Trade Organization talks until implementation issues from the 1994 Uruguay Round agreements are resolved.
The rationale for India's insistence on not expanding the agenda of the next WTO ministerial meeting to be held in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 9-13, he said, is "shared by many developing nations and also by many people in the developed nations.
"Unmet promises and unfulfilled obligations of the developed nations made in the Uruguay Round have cast the legitimate concerns of the developing nations into a sharper focus in the run-up to the Doha conference," Vajpayee told a conference on "Concerns of Developing Nations in the WTO Regime."
Separately, a high-ranking government official said Aug. 18 that, despite hectic lobbying by the United States, India will not change its stand of opposing the new round of multilateral trade talks. "Our stand [on new trade round] has not changed at all," V.S. Sheshadri, India's joint secretary in the commerce ministry, told BNA in an interview on the sidelines of a seminar organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Vajpayee said that he regretted that the Uruguay Round had not brought about any appreciable liberalization, especially in agriculture sector.
While there cannot be equal treatment for all in a world that is essentially unequal, Vajpayee said, "the principle of affirmative action justifies and demands reasonable protection for the developing nations and assistance for the least developed nations.
"The chief concerns of the developing nations are well known and have been forcefully articulated both in bilateral talks and in international forums. We are not in favor of including nontrade issues such as labor and environmental standards, which may furnish scope for misuse as nontariff barriers," the Indian premier said.
Rich Nations Seen Raising Barriers
He blamed the developed countries for imposing "unfair tariff and nontariff barriers" on competitive products from developing countries like steel, textiles, clothing, and leather products.
"We have always recognized that international trade can be a powerful engine of economic growth and social development around the world. However, this benign potential can be realized only if the world trading system is reoriented to make it just, rule-based, nondiscriminatory, and dynamic," Vajpayee said.
Vajpayee's remarks came as the developed countries led by the United States and the European Union stepped up their efforts to garner support in favor of the new round of multilateral trade talks.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick visited New Delhi earlier this month and told Indian officials and industry leaders that India could be isolated if it persisted in opposing fresh talks.
Referring to Zoellick's visit during which the U.S. official urged India to support the introduction of a new round of trade talks, Sheshadri said, "Our stand is not that unstable that it can be changed by someone's persuasion or insistence."
"We have some legitimate concerns about the new round of talks and the same were conveyed to Mr. Zoellick," he said.
"We are opposed to the new round of trade talks at Doha and we are firm on this subject. There is no going back on this issue," Sheshadri said.
"Our concerns have far reaching consequences. We want Uruguay round issues to be implemented completely before we embark on a new round of negotiations," the Indian official said.
He said that during a WTO meeting on May 3, 2000, it was agreed that 93 proposals submitted by the developing nations would be discussed before the Doha summit, but only two issues have been addressed so far.
India and like-minded countries are trying to evolve a consensus on opposing the introduction of new round of trade talks or linking non-trade issues like environment and labor with trade, according to Sheshadri.
Key Meetings in August
India is hosting a meeting of trade ministers of South Asian countries on Aug. 22-23 to muster support in favor of its stand at Doha summit. A meeting of like-minded countries is also being organized in Geneva at the behest of Pakistan.
Sheshadari said that India has been invited to attend an informal conference in Mexico of some countries' WTO ministers on Aug. 31.
The meeting is aimed at finalizing the agenda for the Doha conference and possibly avoid a confrontation between developed and developing countries on several key issues as witnessed in at the Seattle WTO ministerial meeting in late 1999.
Besides the United States and the European Union, countries and territories invited to Mexico meetings include Japan, Australia, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, India's Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran said that India is not isolated in opposing the EU- and U.S.- sponsored agenda for a new round of trade talks.
Speaking to the lawmakers attached to his ministry, Maran said, implementation issues are the top most priority.
"India was consistent in its position that implementation- related concerns of the developing countries should be addressed up front by the WTO members as these arose out the Uruguay round of negotiations concluded in 1994."
Developing countries are already paying heavily by undertaking several onerous obligations and are not prepared to pay again, the minister said.
Referring to the ongoing mandated negotiations, Maran said India had already submitted comprehensive proposals in agriculture in the areas of domestic support, market access, food security and exports,
Copyright c 2001 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C.By Harbaksh Singh Nanda:
