What the Doha Development Agenda is all about-II

By C. Rammanohar Reddy

This is the second and concluding part of an analysis of the main items of the agenda of the new WTO Round. The first part was published in these columns on November 15.

WTO Rules: The agenda here is mainly to review and re-negotiate the existing rules on application of anti-dumping duties. While the tussle is mainly between the U.S. and Japan, India too has an interest - both as a user and victim - in renegotiating the presently opaque rules in this area. The second item in this area is a review of WTO rules covering subsidies in fisheries, which are at present very large in the EU and Japan.

Dispute Settlement Understanding: The dispute settlement process has been a considerable source of discomfort for all countries - developed and developing - with allegations of poor judgments that go well into re-writing existing WTO/GATT agreements. The agenda calls for a review and re-negotiation of the DSU rules.

Trade and Environment: This is a new area, another non-trade subject, which for the first time has been brought in for negotiation. A potential major concern for India, the Union Commerce Minister, Mr. Murasoli Maran, said in Doha that ``We have to be careful that it does not become a monster like TRIPS." The agenda, drawn up at the EU insistence mainly in response to domestic NGO opinion, consists of two parts.

One is negotiations on the relationship between multilateral environment agreements (MEAs) like the U.N. convention on biological diversity and the WTO rules in the same area and on the tariffs on environmental goods (this for the EU environment industry).

Two, a discussion in the WTO on eco-labelling procedures; which in theory could lead to negotiations in the area.

Electronic commerce: A continuation of the work programme in this area with maintaining the zero per cent duty on products bought and sold across national borders through the internet.

Other areas for negotiation include technical co-operation and a study programme on the links between trade, debt and finance - both of greater interest to the least developed countries.

Organisation of the Work Programme: One of the biggest concerns, tucked away at the end of the declaration, it calls for talks to be completed by 2005. While this is over-ambitious and will not be realised (a conclusion before 2007 is unlikely), the problem is that while the negotiations in each area above will result in a separate WTO agreement, countries will have to take all of them as one package and cannot pick and choose which ones to approve and which to reject. This ``single undertaking" as it is called - and was first introduced in the Uruguay Round - gives little flexibility to developing countries, which is also why it was insisted on especially by the EU.

The negotiations will also be conducted outside the General Council of the WTO (the main body of the organisation) and like during the Uruguay Round a separate ``Trade Negotiations Committee" will be set up. Besides bypassing the General Council, this procedure will also make additional demands on the manpower and negotiating skills of the WTO missions of the developing countries.

All in all the Doha Development Agenda will pose a significant challenge to Indian negotiators, both to realise the opportunities where they will be available as well as to counter the threats in areas which are detrimental to Indian interests.

(Concluded)

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