US accuses India, other nations of revisiting Trade Facilitation Agreement commitment

WASHINGTON: Without naming India directly, a top US trade official has alleged that a few nations are revisiting their commitment to implement WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement, but hoped for a consensus before the July 31 deadline for signing the pact.

US Trade Representative Mike Froman told a Washington audience yesterday that the credibility of the World Trade Organization as an institution rests on swift implementation of the TFA.

In his remarks at the Brookings Institute, Froman did not directly identify India as the one blocking TFA, but his reference was only towards India and the few other countries like Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador, which have supported New Delhi's stand for delay in adoption of TFA, which was negotiated upon in Bali last year.

Last week, India told the WTO in Geneva that it would not sign TFA unless its concerns on food security are addressed, to which the US had expressed its disappointment.

"Unfortunately, a couple countries now appear to be revisiting their commitment to implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement later this week," Froman said.

"The first fully multilateral trade agreement in WTO history, the TFA would make border procedures more efficient, and in doing so, cut trade costs by almost 14.5 per cent for developing countries and 10 per cent for developed countries," he argued.

Froman said: "We are hopeful about achieving a consensus, because alongside the economic stakes, the credibility of the WTO as an institution rests on the swift implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

"Bali breathed new life into the multilateral trading system; it would be short-sighted - especially for a couple developing countries - to block the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement this week, putting at risk again the continued viability of the multilateral system and undermining the development efforts of so many countries reliant on that system."