'US must move beyond double standards in trade policy'

The US must move beyond double standards in its trade policy if it wants to cut a deal with developing countries like India and Brazil on the stalled Doha round of trade negotiations, a leading Indian American expert has said.

By PTI | Feb 17, 2007, 02.40 PM IST

NEW YORK: The US must move beyond double standards in its trade policy if it wants to cut a deal with developing countries like India and Brazil on the stalled Doha round of trade negotiations, a leading Indian American expert has said.

"The US is minimalist in terms of making concessions in farm sector and maximalist in making demands on others in terms of agriculture," says Jagdish Bhagwati, professor of Economics and Law at the Columbia University and Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR).

In an interview published in the CFRF's newsletter, he asserts that the farm bill being considered by the US, which seeks to reduce subsidies, mainly in agriculture, from around $20 billion to $ 17 billion would not satisfy the rest of the world.

"I don't think the rest of the world is going to be excited about that...We want India...to make substantial concessions in agriculture. At the same time, Europeans, who don't have any interest in exporting agricultural.....are perfectly happy to see India and Brazil make concessions in manufacturing and services," he says.

"The American farm lobby saying it would not give up subsidies unless it gets big markets elsewhere is the basic source of pessimism now," he opines, saying "The executive would like to make the concessions."

But Bhagwati is not much worried about lack of progress in the Doha round of trade negotiations and rejects the suggestion that the failure would lead to loss of billions of dollars. "Some gains from the trade would be lost and we will not be able to move forward. But there is going to be no slide back," he added.

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'US must move beyond double standards in trade policy'

The US must move beyond double standards in its trade policy if it wants to cut a deal with developing countries like India and Brazil on the stalled Doha round of trade negotiations, a leading Indian American expert has said.

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