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`New trade round, not aid vital for ending poverty'

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, Oct. 29

CUTTING barriers to trade in agriculture, manufacturing and services by one-third would boost the world's economy by $613 billion. This was stated by Mr Richard McCormick, President, ICC, while inaugurating the 71st annual general meeting of ICC India, h ere on Monday.

Mr McCormick said that no group will benefit more from freer trade and investment than the developing countries. A new trade round could bring these countries, their businesses, and their people greatly improved access to new markets. This would do more to end poverty and despair than any amount of aid or debt cancellation.

The only way to assure that all of us reap the benefits of a global economy is to do all we can to create together, the mechanisms that trade round, working with our own Government to make importing, exporting and FDI successful and looking for new oppor tunities to invest and produce at home and beyond, he said.

In his welcome address, Mr A. Vellayan, President, ICC India, said that WTO needs to take up the issues of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, particularly, substantial reduction in tariff peaks and tariff escalation, elimination of tariffs that are already very low, extending tariff bindings, particularly in respect of products for which tariffs remain high. He also called for improved transparency in the administration of tariff rate quotas during the process of eliminating them progressively over an agr eed period of time.

Efforts to improve market access by further reduction of tariffs should be complemented by more effective curbs on non-tariff barriers, he said. Further, developing countries should be allowed to maintain tariff rates commensurate with their trade develo pment and financial needs, he said.

Mr Vellayan said that with regard to international investment, ICC India feels that without a broad consensus on bringing the issue of investment in the fold of WTO may once again result in an impasse. It hardly needs any emphasis that despite lack of mu ltilateral agreement on investment, global FDI flows have grown substantially from $58 million to $1 trillion in the last decade.

Of particular note is the fact that China which is yet to join WTO and does not have too many bilateral agreements is attracting $50 billion annually.