Backing the government's stance at WTO, industry body CII today said due importance should be given to trade facilitation, food security and LDCs issues while taking forward the outcomes of Bali Ministerial.
India has said it will not compromise the interest of poor farmers and consumers at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and sought complete resolution of the foodgrain stockpile issue, which is essential for unhindered implementation of the country's food security programme.
"There is a need to bring balance in the implementation of Bali Ministerial Decisions. All three pillars -- Trade Facilitation, Food Security and LDCs (least developed countries) issues - must be accorded adequate importance while taking forward the outcomes of Bali Ministerial," said CII President Ajay Shriram.
"Trade facilitation undoubtedly is important to Indian industry and this is also a low-hanging fruit in the current negotiations. The agreement on trade facilitation must be taken to its logical conclusion along with commensurate progress on other two issues of Bali Ministerial Decisions," he further emphasised.
Justifying India's tough stand, which had led to collapse of the WTO Geneva talks recently, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said in Parliament that without a permanent solution, public stockholding programmes in India and other developing countries will be hampered by the present ceiling on domestic support. This is pegged at 10 per cent of the value of production and is wrongly considered as trade-distorting subsidy to farmers under WTO rules.
India had decided not to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes.
