India not isolated at WTO: Maran

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 16. The Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr. Murasoli Maran, today said that India was not isolated in the negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the run-up to the fourth ministerial conference.

He stressed that national interests would be fully safeguarded at the conference scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar, from November 9 to 13.

Mr. Maran, who was addressing the parliamentary consultative committee attached to his Ministry, was evidently refuting the suggestion of the U.S. Trade Representative, Mr. Robert Zoellick, that India may be isolated by its rigid opposition to a new round of talks.

During his recent visit, Mr. Zoellick argued that most countries, including China, were now considering the issues to be taken up in the new round rather than questioning whether it would be launched at all.

He maintained that India should engage in negotiations rather than taking an inflexible stand.

In this context, Mr. Maran referred to the preparatory consultations underway at the WTO in Geneva for the Doha meet as well as the efforts by a few industrialised countries to include new issues. He told members that India's consistent position had been that implementation-related concerns of the developing countries should be addressed upfront by the WTO membership as these arose out of the 1994 Uruguay Round of negotiations.

The developing countries had already paid for these by undertaking onerous obligations and were not prepared to do so again.

He emphasised the Government's resolve to intensify efforts to build a consensus in the country as also to garner support of the developing countries.

He said the country would participate in the Doha conference based on a stakeholder-driven negotiating mandate as was done for Seattle.

The members welcomed the Government's firm stance on issues of concern, especially agriculture.

The Congress MP, Mr. Kapil Sibal, and others appreciated the efforts to mobilise the support of developing countries, including Mr. Maran's recent letter to the Trade Ministers of the G-77 seeking a coordinated position on WTO issues.

On the on-going mandate negotiations in the WTO, Mr. Maran said comprehensive proposals on agriculture had already been submitted in the areas of domestic support, market access, food security and exports.

Agreeing with members that agriculture and the smallscale sector should be among the core concerns, he said the country would continue to take up food security and livelihood

concerns.

Besides, it would seek market access opportunities for agri- exports by substantial reduction in tariffs, domestic subsidies and elimination of export subsidies. India had submitted proposals in the key areas of services seeking removal of existing limitations on movement of professionals.

Citing TRIPs (trade related intellectual property rights) and TRIMs (trade related investment measures) as the two most important areas of review, Mr. Maran said India had initiated proposals under the former review for protection of traditional knowledge and extension of protection for geographical indications to additional products such as Basmati rice and Darjeeling tea.

In TRIMs, the main demand would be to allow developing countries to fix some minimum levels of indigenisation while permitting foreign investments to take care of their developmental needs.

Responding to members' concerns about the impact of removal of quantitative restrictions on agriculture, Mr. Maran said it had not opened the floodgates of imports.

He cited data which showed that during the first quarter of the current financial year (April-June) imports had actually declined by 13 per cent for 300 sensitive items being monitored on a monthly basis.

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