WTO for ending Doha talks; Govt says no

India has rejected the World Trade Organisation's proposal to conclude the negotiations on the Doha Round by June-end.

Director General of WTO Pascal Lamy had yesterday said the negotiations on the Doha Round should be expedited as the tenure of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in the United States was expiring on June 30.

"June 30 is not a fixed deadline in the formal sense, but a target set by the WTO. There is no commitment by India on this deadline, but then again, we will try our best to conclude it by that period. If the content of the Doha Round is acceptable, we could accept it," said Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, at the end of the seminar on Doha Round here.

According to Sandra Polanski, director of trade, equity and development project at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, it would be impractical to believe that the expiry of the TPA will impact the Doha Round.

"The Uruguay Round took eight years while the Doha Round is only five years old. I see this round going on for another couple of years and would be surprised if it concludes by 2009," she said, on the sidelines of an international seminar, Saving Doha and Delivering on Development.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said in order to break the impasse in WTO talks, developed countries must reduce the huge trade-distorting subsidies provided to their agriculture sector.

"It must be recognised that for us, agriculture is not just a business but a way of life and a major source of livelihood," he added.