India digs in heels on farm access

NEW DELHI: India has said that while it was ready to engage constructively in the ongoing World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, it will not give access to subsidised agricultural products from developed countries.

Commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said that developed countries should come forward with credible and meaningful offers to cut subsidies and open market access. Addressing the ministerial meeting of the G-33 group of countries with defensive interest in agriculture in Jakarta, Mr Nath said, “we are willing to constructively engage but we cannot negotiate the livelihood of our farmers.”

The minister pointed out that the Doha mandate and Hong Kong declaration provided special products (SPs) and special safeguard mechanism (SSM) as crucial instruments of development. “There can be no departure form the mandate,” he said.

The G-33 meeting was also attended by WTO director general Pascal Lamy, EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim and representatives of the Africa Group, the ACP (Africa, Caribbean-Pacific) and the small and vulnerable economies.