Govt set to sign global trade deal with US, EU, say media reports

A global trade deal between the government, the United States and the European Union is close to being signed, with the country agreeing to sign the stalled international treaty on easier customs rules, the Times of India reported.

The government will sign the treaty only after an agreement on the contentious food security issue is reached at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and in return the United States and European Union will accept the country's demand for providing flexibility to developing countries in fixing minimum support price for farm products, the newspaper reported, citing a source.

Representatives at the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the US Department of Commerce and the EU were immediately not available for comment.

On Wednesday, the government defied the world in a row over food stockpiling that had crippled attempts to reach a global trade agreement, raising doubts that backroom talks could reach a compromise before a Group of 20 (G20) summit in November.

The Centre's blockade has plunged the WTO into its worst crisis in two decades, leading Director General Roberto Azevedo to float the idea of abandoning the consensus principle on which the 160-member group operates.

(Reuters)