As WTO Ministerial meeting nears, civil society groups wants India to be transparent on its negotiating position

Civil society organisations have cautioned the central government that unless it takes a firm stand to stick to the long pending development agenda, the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Buenos Aires, Argentina from December 10 may spell trouble to large sections of Indian farmers, fishermen, traders and small scale producers.  The general feeling that the outcome of the WTO ministerial may not be substantial is incorrect, as even an agreement to start discussing on a new work programme will result in the introduction of new agenda items that will be detrimental to India's interests, they point out.

In a press conference organised by the Third World Network, Focus on the Global South and Forum Against FTAs in New Delhi, the groups wanted India to make its stance on WTO ministerial public. "In the last Nairobi Ministerial itself, they (advanced economies) kicked out the Doha (development) agenda. The next part of the game will be played out in Buenos Aires,"  Biswajit Dhar, a trade and development economist associated with JNU says. According to him, India should resist the plan to begin discussions on investment facilitation, fisheries and e-commerce in the garb of helping small and medium sector enterprises. "When e-commerce discussions began in WTO it meant only electronic transmissions, not even video transmissions. Over the years, it encompasses everything. If you agree to liberalise e-commerce trade today you will be allowing complete economic liberalisation through the front door," he says.

The civil society groups wanted India to negotiate a permanent solution to the problems associated with the extra aggregate measurement of support (AMS) enjoyed by the developed countries. "WTO must move on India-China's proposal on eliminating trade-distorting AMS by developed countries that is detrimental to the Indian farmers interest,"  Yudhvir Singh of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) said.

Just as in agriculture, the issue of subsidies by developed countries is troubling Indian fisheries sector. "India needs to secure as much policy space as possible to protect small fishers and develop its small and sustainable fisheries sector. The existing domestic subsidies of the developed countries in this cannot continue, while our space to do so is taken away by the proposed WTO rules on fisheries subsidies,"  Pradip Chatterjee of Disha, National Fisheries Friends Partnership says.

On e-commerce, Vijay Kumar Jain, Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal said that the proposed rule on permanent removal  of duties on import of all digitised and digitisable products will hurt physical retailers as more and more products are getting digitised. "Foreign e-companies will get duty free access to Indian markets whereas Indian retailers will have to sell products with duties on them," he points out.

The groups wanted India not to buckle under pressure and keep the worries of the domestic trade, agriculture and manufacturing sector in mind while negotiating any outcome at the ministerial.