Bali package at risk, future uncertain: WTO Chief Roberto Azevedo

NEW DELHI: WTO chief Roberto Azevedo on Monday expressed serious concerns over the fate of Bali package, saying the deal is "at risk" and the future seems "uncertain". WTO members agreed to implement the decisions taken in Bali last year and they also agreed to adopt a work programme, by the end of this year, to deal with the remaining issues of the Doha Round, he said.

"However, all of this is now at risk," he said in an address to the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board. India's tough stand led to impasse in the WTO. India had decided not to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes. Azevedo said there seems to be a clear interplay between concerns on the negotiations on public stock-holding and the implementation of the TFA.

"Both public stock-holding programmes and trade facilitation were issues addressed by the Bali decisions. There is no formal or legal linkage between these two issues, but we cannot deny that there is an important political link bringing them together. At present the future is uncertain," he said. Expressing confidence, he said if the members solve these issues, the WTO would be able to look ahead and resume efforts in the broader negotiating agenda. "If we do not, members will have to think carefully about what the consequences are. There could be an impact on all areas of our work...My assessment is that we risk disengagement if we don't solve this impasse shortly," he said.

Azevedo said many areas of work "may suffer a freezing effect", including the areas of interest to developing countries, such as agriculture. India has asked WTO to amend norms for calculating agriculture subsidies so that the country could continue to procure foodgrains from farmers at minimum support price and sell them to poor at cheaper rates without violating norms.