The Group of Ministers on WTO is expected to meet on Monday to approve India's negotiating strategy.

Senior government officials told Business Standard that the GoM meeting had been convened in the wake of expectations that a WTO mini-ministerial could be convened anytime before the Hong Kong ministerial meeting on December 13. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath is also scheduled to meet the Left parties on the issue this week.

While there are no signs of a breakthrough in agriculture negotiations at the WTO so far, officials said a $500-million aid package for the poor and the Least Developed Countries, to be called "aid for trade", was being worked out by the developed countries and could be announced in Hong Kong.

"The main objective behind the special aid package appears to be to buy out the support of the LDCs, particularly African countries," an official said.

Meanwhile India, along with other members of the G-33 group, is expected to table a paper on Special Products and Special Safeguard mechanism to the WTO this week.

"The paper, for the first time, will recommend allowing developing countries like India to keep a certain percentage of their tariff lines as sensitive products," officials said, adding that the paper was expected to recommend 15 per cent as sensitive products.

This would allow India to maintain around 100 tariff lines as sensitive. Similarly, the G-33 paper was also expected to recommend the trigger point for developing countries for activating their safeguard mechanism which would allow them to increase import duties in the wake of a surge in imports or allow the government to raise a minimum support price for its farmers in case of a bad crop due to conditions like a famine or floods.

Talking heads

• A $500-million aid package for the poor and the Least Developed Countries, to be called "aid for trade", is being worked out by the developed countries
• India along with other G-33 countries is expected to table a paper on Special Products and Special Safeguard mechanism
• Paper to recommend allowing developing countries like India to keep a certain percentage of their tariff lines as sensitive products