India to soft-pedal on services at WTO meet

India will demand for an agreed solution on the issue of public stockholding of grain for food security, besides domestic subsidies to the agri sector

The Government of India will not be pushing its proposal of a global trade facilitation agreement (TFA) on services at next month’s meet of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Instead, the country will throw its weight behind a demand for an agreed solution on the issue of public stockholding of grain for food security, besides domestic subsidies to the agriculture sector, said J S Deepak, India’s ambassador at WTO. 

The global body’s biennial ministerial conference is due next month, at Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is expected to set the discussion and norms on sectoral issues for another two years, if not more. 

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