New team to grapple with complex trade talks at WTO

NEW DELHI: With just over 100 days to go for the crucial ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Nairobi, the commerce department finds itself with a new set of negotiators to grapple with the complex talks.

In addition, several tricky bilateral deals are in the pipeline with negotiations for the high stakes Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the free trade agreements with Australia and Canada entering critical phase.

Around 60 days ago, Rita A Teaotia took over as the new commerce secretary, replacing Rajeev Kher whose nine-year stint in the trade department ended on his superannuation. On Friday, the government moved J S Deepak to the department of IT as the new secretary on promotion.

Deepak dealt with multilateral talks and was a crucial link in India renegotiating the deal on farm subsidies in return for a WTO agreement on trade facilitation. He also led the dialogue on bilateral trade agreements and was a key trade strategist in the government.