India didn’t come back empty handed form WTO, Nirmala Sitharaman tells Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: India did not come back empty handed from the Nairobi ministerial of the World Trade Organization, nor did it the government do anything that was detrimental to the country, commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

“Baahar jaake desh ka nuksaan nahi kiya, jo laabhdaayak tha, wo kar ke aayi hun (I didn’t put the country’s interest at stake abroad, I did what was beneficial)…We haven’t come back empty handed. We have all that the Hong Kong and Bali ministerials promised,” Sitharaman said while giving her statement on India’s stand in the WTO in the Rajya Sabha.

She told the House that India was able to hold on to the perpetual peace clause for public stock holding for food security till a permanent solution is found and got a commitment on a Special Safeguard Mechanism to safeguard the domestic industry- something that was not even on the WTO’s agenda.

On export subsidies, the minister said that India will have to do way with its transport and marketing subsidies by 2023 and that makes on a par with developed countries as they have to eliminate their subsidies immediately.

However, she did express her disappointment on the WTO not having reaffirmed the Doha Development Agenda, which was India’s key demand.

On being asked by former commerce minister Anand Sharma on why India didn't red flag the Nairobi declaration when Doha was not reaffirmed, she said: “We did give a statement on this...and the larger coalition has not deserted us.”