In the post-Cancun scenario, India needs to be more proactive and aggressive on multilateral negotiations than ever before. Entrenched positions need to be quickly abandoned and fresh positions taken up.
As a first step, certain misconceptions must be discarded immediately. Developing countries are far from united on all trade issues, just as developed countries have differences over many.
For example, the US does not fancy the idea of multilateral negotiations on competition policy. Within the European Union, Germany and the UK, countries which pay for farm subsidies, resent the gains that go to farmers in France.
More From This Section
Similarly, among the G-22 (the alliance of developing nations that emerged during the Cancun meet) countries, Brazil, Argentina and Egypt want faster and wider agricultural reforms, whereas India does not want to open its borders to farm produce, but wants only rich countries to bring in reforms.
Despite all the talk about encouraging more bilateral and regional trade agreements, developed countries need the Doha Development Round too. The