WTO Trade Ministers concluded their talks, leaves India disappointed

The disagreement of the developing nations’ bloc, led by India and China, with the views of the rich nations including the U.S. posed the risk of the four-day meeting of the WTO trade ministers getting extending at least by a day as the emerging nations pushed for a conclusion of the Doha agenda hanging in balance for nearly 14 years. The agreement also recognizes developing countries’ right to special safeguard mechanism aimed at protecting their farmers.

“The WTO members – especially the developing countries – have consistently demanded action on this issue due to the enormous distorting potential of these subsidies for domestic production and trade”.

“Utterly disappointed”, said Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala Sitharamnan, lamenting that unanimous reaffirmation of the Doha Development Round, launched in 2001 at the Qatari capital, was not honoured by some countries.

She also said that India has ensured that the decision on public stockholding has been reaffirmed in no uncertain terms. “The WTO is clearly not fit for objective if the best that its members can do is agree to disagree”.

The disappointment of India is understandable as developed nations such as the United States want to move away from the Doha issues. “It was a fight to safeguard India’s interest on all these three scores which we have gained according to me”, Sitharaman said. “It is our duty to safeguard the legitimate interests of poor farmers and food security of hundreds of millions in developing countries”, the Indian minister said.

Failure to reach such an agreement at the Nairobi conference would have been “nothing short of disastrous” for the worldwide trading system, Mr McClay said.

“We note with concern the slow and uneven recovery from the severe economic and financial crisis of 2008, resulting in lower global economic growth, depressed agricultural and other commodity prices, raising inequalities, unemployment and significantly slower expansion of worldwide trade in recent years”.

“We achieved a package of outcomes which would contribute to development”.

Two new countries, Liberia and Afghanistan, joined the WTO club this week, bringing the total number of members to 164.

India said the so-called “special and differential treatment” agreed to at the talks was also noteworthy. Sitharaman said that some countries are pushing their agenda with undue haste.