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India says disappointed on Doha issues
Highlights
India on Saturday expressed its thorough disappointment over non-reaffirmation to conclude 14-year-old Doha Round pacts, even as the five-day WTO meeting here managed to win a commitment to allow developing nations to use special safeguards to protect farmers against import surges.
Nairobi: India on Saturday expressed its "thorough" disappointment over non-reaffirmation to conclude 14-year-old Doha Round pacts, even as the five-day WTO meeting here managed to win a commitment to allow developing nations to use special safeguards to protect farmers against import surges.
After hectic negotiations for five consecutive days here -- exceeding the scheduled closing by almost 24 hours -- the WTO Trade Ministers concluded their talks on Saturday evening without any commitment on rich countries being asked to check their domestic subsidies.
Besides, rich nations refused to budge on their long-standing position of putting the onus on developing countries with regard to duties.
India's trade minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India put across its position very clearly on the table and strongly "protested" against the failure to reach an unanimity on "reaffirmation" to conclude over 14-year-old Doha round to safeguard developing nations' interest.
However, the members of the global trade body agreed on a commitment for giving the developing nations a right to take recourse to Special Safeguard Mechanism to protect their farmers -- a long-standing demand of India.
Lobbying by India and other developing countries also led to reaffirmation to decisions taken earlier at WTO (World Trade Organisation) on the issue of public stockholding.
"We ensured that the Bali and the General Council's November 2014 decision on public stockholding which gives protection to my farmers has been reaffirmed in no uncertain terms.
"The decisions taken here will form the part from where work will begin on it to give a permanent solution," Trade and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. "We have done our best that we can in such a situation.
Most of the commitments given by the WTO to us are carried forward with complete assurance and we have not lost any ground," she added.
Sitharaman however said that "India is disappointed that notwithstanding a large group - India, China, G33, African Union -- all of us insisting that Doha has to be reaffirmed , the reaffirmation has been divided.
We are thoroughly disappointed on this core". "It was a fight to safeguard India's interest on all these three scores which we have gained according to me," Sitharaman said.
She said the Ministerial Declaration, circulated on Saturday night after completion of the talks, "reflects the division amongst the WTO Membership on the issue of the reaffirmation of the Doha mandate".
"India, along with other developing countries, especially most members of the G-33, LDCs, the Africa Group and the ACP, wanted a reaffirmation of the mandate of the Doha Round.
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