Global News Wire | The Economic Times | November 27, 2001
THE OUTCOME of the Doha ministerial meeting is definitely satisfactory. The declaration on TRIPS (especially the assertion that the TRIPS Agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO members right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all) and the recognition of the implementation concerns voiced by India and other developing countries, are major achievements. (Some implementation concerns have been conceded and the outstanding issues shall now be an integral part of the approved work programme.)
In the area of agriculture also there has been a gain; in the negotiations, the development needs, including food security and rural development will be taken into account. Apart from the above positive gains, India has been able to successfully keep out of negotiations the issue of core labour standards. Also, the consideration of the subjects investment, competition policy, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement have been deferred.
The outcome of the Doha ministerial meeting cannot be and should not be evaluated in terms of success or failure. Negotiation means trade-offs; there will be gains but some compromises may be inevitable. It would be naive to expect that in any negotiation involving over 140 members, all the demands and wish list of one member or even a group of members would be met.
EU and Japan have been seeking, for quite some time to commence negotiations in the areas of investment and competition policy, but have not been successful so far, because of Indias objections, though these countries have a large share in world trade.
There is a perception that we have not been successful in preventing negotiation in the area of trade and environment; but it may not be correct to view the declaration in that light.
We, as a nation have always been sensitive to environment concerns. We are also a signatory to many international conventions. The Doha declaration only mandates negotiations without prejudging the outcome, on the relationship between the existing WTO rules and the specific trade obligations set out in multilateral environment agreements (MEA). The negotiations will be limited in scope to the applicability of such existing WTO rules as among parties to the MEA in question.
No logical answer can be given to the poser as to whether we could have done better. It is simply easy to claim that we should have bargained for more.
It is worth recalling that at Doha, India was alone in the end. It should not also be overlooked that the interests and concerns of the different member countries of the world trade body are not the same and often conflicting.
1Most of the developing countries were agreeable to the final declaration that offered a commitment to the objective of duty-free, quota free market access for the products originating from the LDCs; there was also a major waiver concession to A C P countries. Any measure that would have denied the fruits of such an offer may not have gone down well with many developing countries.
A fair manner of judging the outcome of the Doha meet is to assess the benefits obtained and evaluate the loss or harm caused if any. Viewed from this perspective, the Doha outcome can be said to be very positive and beneficial.
We have to now prepare ourselves for intense negotiations. There will be requests and demands from member countries and we have to evaluate them and also decide what concessions, facilities, benefits and rights we should seek in return. It may be advisable to constitute expert groups for analyses of the proposals of other countries.
Strong research and analysis cells/groups would need to be created in universities and research institutions for the above purposes and also for providing inputs into negotiations.
It would be advisable to also establish a process of continuing consultations with the relevant stakeholders. Trade bodies can also contribute to these processes and efforts effectively. Reform measures to strengthen the nations capacity, capabilities and competitiveness would also need priority attention.
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