India for fruitful completion of Doha Round: Rahul Khullar
03 Aug '07
3 min read
India is serious for a successful conclusion of the Doha Round of WTO negotiations, said Dr. Rahul Khullar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India at the “Session on How Far Are We From A Successful Doha Round” organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), here on Thursday.
Dr. Khullar highlighted three major milestones to conclude a deal in the Doha Round negotiations. He said first that the content of the draft text on NAMA presented by the chairperson of the Negotiating Group on July 17 in the present form has to be changed keeping in mind the development aspect of Doha Round and the aspirations of the developing countries.
Second, he said that the US Farm Bill, 2007, and farm policy erodes the position of the US trade negotiators in the Doha Round negotiations, because this legislation does not provide any scope of reduction in agricultural subsidies.
The US Farm Bill in the current form does not give member countries of WTO the confidence that US will be in a position to deliver what they may promise in the negotiations, Dr Khullar said.
Dr. Khullar mentioned that the third important aspect is the need for a Fast Track Authority to the US President to conclude the Doha Round and reluctance in the Congress to give the President this Authority.
The Potsdam meeting of the G4 mainly collapsed because the cut in agricultural subsidies as proposed by the US to US$ 17 billion was unacceptable to the other countries, Dr Khullar said.
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