The Hindu : WTO talks: better access to eco goods, services urged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 17, 2003

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WTO talks: better access to eco goods, services urged

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 16. India has called upon the developed countries to adopt a balanced approach to market access in the WTO negotiations on trade in environmental goods and services or else there could be prospects of these getting derailed.

Addressing a seminar organised by the UNCTAD and TERI, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, today stressed that these negotiations provided an opportunity for better access to environmental goods and services as also an opportunity for their export from India.

"We would like to actively participate in these negotiations from both these perspectives,'' he said. He said the issue of export of environmental services was very important for this country. Indian service suppliers could offer them to other developing countries under Mode 3 and 4 to both developing and developed countries. He said, "our approach to commitments in environmental services would be dependent on getting similar access for our service suppliers in other countries.''

Mr. Rudy urged the environmental industry to identify strategic sectors of export interest specifically in natural products like jute and coir where India has a natural advantage. Such products support the livelihood of millions of poor people, both here and in other developing countries, he said.

The Minister said previous deliberations had brought out that India might have some trade advantage in the long-term by getting these goods included in the negotiating list. "However, we are against inclusion of products based on the method of production rather than the quality and characteristics of the end products. Such a principle would be violative of the basic principles of `like product' in the WTO, he said.

Mr. Rudy's comments are in the context of the Doha WTO Ministerial Conference, which had launched negotiations on certain limited aspects of trade-environment debate. The discussions, at present, revolve round identifying such goods, defining them and preparing a list.

The Additional Secretary, Commerce Ministry, S.N. Menon, said that it remains to be seen whether there could be a relationship between the country's requirements in the environmental sector, including capacities with market access commitments that it could undertake.

He said the approach in the WTO is basically to limit the exercise to tariff reduction on a set of products eventually identified as environmental goods and establishing a liberal services regime.

The TERI Director-General, R.K. Pachauri, highlighted the fact that there was no agreed definition of environmental goods now in the WTO but the general understanding was that these were pollution control equipment. He felt an overall view needed to be taken taking into account the beneficial impact on environment, the trade impact on domestic manufacturers and other aspects of the Doha round of negotiations.

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