India Inc welcomes 'historic' WTO pact

NEW DELHI: Terming the WTO agreement on trade reforms and foodgrain stockpiling as "historic", the industry today said the development will give a boost to the world trade.

"While the decision on public holding for food security purpose protects the nutritional needs of millions of poor people in developing world, the adoption of protocol on Trade Facilitation will give the much-needed boost to world trade, which witnessed downward trend in post-crisis period," CII said in a statement.

It is a "historic" moment for the World Trade Organization (WTO), it added.

Ending months-long deadlock, the WTO yesterday approved a framework for implementation of a global pact for easing customs norms after acceding to India's demand to remove constraints on food stockpiling.

The agreement would now need to be ratified by governments of individual member countries, including India, for coming into effect which is expected some time next year

Meanwhile, Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb said that this paves the way for negotiations to commence on a future WTO work programme, which will be a key stepping stone to concluding the Doha Round.

The Doha Round, started in 2001, was stuck due to differences between developed and developing economies on several issues including on agriculture.

"This is a most significant breakthrough," Robb said in a statement.

The OECD estimates that the TFA (Trade Facilitation Agreement) will reduce trade costs by between 11 and 15 per cent, he said, adding "developing nations stand to receive the biggest gain with more than 21 million jobs expected to be created worldwide as a result of the implementation".