India says not bound by any deadline for completing Doha round

NEW DELHI – India says it rejects any deadline for completing the Doha Round of global trade liberalisation talks and sees no breakthrough unless rich nations address the livelihood concerns of developing countries.

World Trade Organisation officials are pushing for a breakthrough in the talks before the expiry of US President George W. Bush’s fast-track Trade Promotion Authority on July 1.But Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said late Tuesday following a two-day international seminar in New Delhi on the Doha round that “there is no commitment by India on the deadline.”Factors like the expiry of Bush’s TPA and the German Presidency of the European Union should not dictate multilateral trade negotiations, he told reporters.When asked whether he agreed with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy’s view that a deal was possible by June, Nath said Lamy was trying to build an atmosphere that is “good for flying, not for landing.”None of the big players has made any concrete offers on tariffs and farm subsidies, the main stumbling blocks, he said.Export subsidies given by wealthy nations have become an emblematic issue for developing countries.The European Union and US have been unable to agree on the size of cuts in agriculture subsidies and tariffs protecting their farm sectors and are in turn pushing developing states to open their markets to industrial goods and services.India and Brazil have emerged as leaders in the developing world’s challenge to the wealthy nations to cut generous farm subsidies as they seek to keep their own agriculture supports.India says it needs to protect the livelihoods of its 650 million farmers, many of whom are desperately poor.India would prefer “no deal than a bad deal,” Nath said, adding that his country would soon open its markets for the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) after consultations with them.A package of duty and quota concessions was being formulated for the LDCs and would be sent to the cabinet for approval in the next two months, he said.The package is in line with a decision at a 2005 Hong Kong WTO meeting to assist those nations which occupy the bottom rung on the WTO ladder and aims to give duty-free and quota-free access to 97 per cent of products originating from LDCs by 2008 On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called separately on developed countries to make bigger farm subsidy cuts to ensure the success of the Doha round of world trade talks.”To break the impasse, developed countries must make meaningful offers to reduce the huge trade-distorting subsidies provided to their agriculture,” Singh said.Nampa-AFPBush’s fast-track Trade Promotion Authority on July 1.But Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said late Tuesday following a two-day international seminar in New Delhi on the Doha round that “there is no commitment by India on the deadline.”Factors like the expiry of Bush’s TPA and the German Presidency of the European Union should not dictate multilateral trade negotiations, he told reporters.When asked whether he agreed with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy’s view that a deal was possible by June, Nath said Lamy was trying to build an atmosphere that is “good for flying, not for landing.”None of the big players has made any concrete offers on tariffs and farm subsidies, the main stumbling blocks, he said.Export subsidies given by wealthy nations have become an emblematic issue for developing countries.The European Union and US have been unable to agree on the size of cuts in agriculture subsidies and tariffs protecting their farm sectors and are in turn pushing developing states to open their markets to industrial goods and services.India and Brazil have emerged as leaders in the developing world’s challenge to the wealthy nations to cut generous farm subsidies as they seek to keep their own agriculture supports.India says it needs to protect the livelihoods of its 650 million farmers, many of whom are desperately poor.India would prefer “no deal than a bad deal,” Nath said, adding that his country would soon open its markets for the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) after consultations with them.A package of duty and quota concessions was being formulated for the LDCs and would be sent to the cabinet for approval in the next two months, he said.The package is in line with a decision at a 2005 Hong Kong WTO meeting to assist those nations which occupy the bottom rung on the WTO ladder and aims to give duty-free and quota-free access to 97 per cent of products originating from LDCs by 2008 On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called separately on developed countries to make bigger farm subsidy cuts to ensure the success of the Doha round of world trade talks.”To break the impasse, developed countries must make meaningful offers to reduce the huge trade-distorting subsidies provided to their agriculture,” Singh said.Nampa-AFP