India wants solution on subsidies from WTO talks, continuation of Doha round: Commerce secy Rita Teaotia

NEW DELHI: With less than a fortnight left for the WTO ministerial in Nairobi, India has stated its expectations from the crucial meeting. Commerce secretary Rita Teaotia has said that even though the contours of what is there on the negotiating table of the WTO, there are four issues on which India wants to emphasise- continuation of the Doha Development Agenda, special safeguard mechanism, removal of targeted subsidies and reduction in trade distorting subsidies.

"The Doha round must not be abandoned at Nairobi (even though) there have been rough patches," she said at a Ficci event here.

She added that in the past, developing countries were dragged into the Doha round but the situation is different now because the developed world doesn't want to pursue the Doha development Agenda while developing nations want to.

"Consensus is developing that the Doha round has to continue…More than a hundred countries want it to continue," she said.

Referring to the developed countries' attempts to introduce issues related to labour, environment and global value chains, among others, she said:

"New uncertainties are getting into global trade". She added that such new issues related to investment, climate change, labour and global value chains are entering the WTO mandate without the existing issues having been sorted.

On the issue of India ratifying the trade facilitation agreement, the secretary added that India is drawing up a roadmap for this as there are many stakeholders involved.

India had, last year, accepted to be party to the agreement which seeks to simplify customs procedures for seamless international trade across borders.