ARUN SHOURIE
SPELLS OUT INDIA’S PRIORITIES ON MARKET ACCESS IN WTO NEGOTIATIONS
FLEXIBILITIES
FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO SAFEGUARD INTERESTS IN AGRICULTURE
AND NON-AGRICULTURAL SECTORS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE
SYDNEY
INFORMAL WTO TRADE MINISTERS’ MEET
Mr. Arun Shourie,
Minister for Disinvestment, Commerce and Industry and Development
of North Eastern Region, today spelt out India’s priorities in
the area of Market Access in the WTO negotiations by clearly stating
that the flexibilities that developing countries require in the
areas of agriculture and non-agricultural products and services
should not be circumscribed and that market access should be calibrated
in a manner that it does not create economic upheaval and consequently
social and political unrest, specially in the developing countries.
Participating in the Session on Market Access
at the Informal WTO Trade Ministers’ Meet hosted by the Government
of Australia in Sydney this afternoon, Mr. Shourie made it clear
that in agriculture, measures to secure food security and rural
development would be among the factors in India’s approach to
the negotiations, In
the non-agricultural sector, he said that the need for safeguarding
certain sensitive sectors of the Indian economy that would be
particularly vulnerable in a situation of liberalisation such
as the small-scale industrial units in the country would be of
paramount importance. Circumstances of the developing countries
would have to be reckoned in the negotiations, Mr. Shourie said,
pointing out that around two-thirds of India’s population depended
on farming for their livelihood and small-scale units provide
employment at low capital cost to 18 million workers. In particular,
he drew attention to the fact that fluctuations in international
prices of agricultural commodities could erode rural incomes and
urged that non-tariff measures should not prevent access of India’s
agricultural products to the markets of developed countries.
Similarly, substantive benefits to developing
countries could accrue only if the developed countries eliminated
tariff peaks and tariff escalations that are prevalent in sectors
of importance to us, like textiles, leather, marine products etc,
he said.
He
further underlined that the mandate for reducing or eliminating
tariff peaks, tariff escalations, high tariffs and for removing
non-tariff barriers – particularly on products of interest to
developing countries - in the Doha Declaration was specific. Special
and differential elements and the importance of not insisting
on full reciprocity from developing countries in market access
had also been provided in the Doha mandate, the Minister said,
adding that the current negotiations should proceed in the spirit
of this mandate. He pointed out that proposals that some developed
countries were pressing – like "zero for zero" and "tariff harmonization"
– ran counter to what Doha had mandated.
Mr.
Shourie emphasised India’s interest in services as a rapidly growing
sector of the Indian economy. As part of the ongoing negotiations
in services, India has made its requests to several countries
and has received requests from some. Mr. Shourie said that India
expected meaningful and fruitful negotiations covering several
services sectors and all modes of delivery - in particular that
the current round of negotiations would place greater emphasis
on the movement of natural persons, thus correcting an important
imbalance that had remained in the Uruguay Round and post Uruguay
Round.
