Even as three more countries joined the India-China-Brazil coalition on agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organisation, at least three other positions on the talks have emerged in Geneva.
While Japan has circulated its own framework on agricultural negotiations, a group comprising Switzerland, South Korea, Bulgaria, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the Chinese Taipei has emerged.
Another group, consisting of Sri Lanka, Kenya, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, has also submitted a joint text.
In a presentation to the consultative committee on commerce, Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley said Venezuela, Equador and the Philippines had supported the joint paper unveiled by India on Wednesday.
Of the 18 members of the Cairns Group, 10 had supported India's framework, seeking a different tariff reduction approach for the developed and developing countries and reduction in agricultural subsidies, he added.
The new postures have emerged following the joint framework announced by the US and the European Union in Geneva last week.
In its proposal to the WTO, Japan--the third major player in agriculture--has suggested a substantial reduction in the amber box consisting of domestic subsidies that distort production and trade.
It has, however, said the green box (subsidies for research, promotion of food security and direct payments to producers that are decoupled from current prices and production levels) and the blue box (production limiting subsidies) needed to be continued.
Japan has also stressed that green box measures should not be capped. The Japanese, like the others, have not provided any time-frame or extent of reductions.
On market access, Japan has sought exemptions from tariff capping or expansion of tariff rate quotas--the two stage tariffs with goods up to a specified quota level imported at a lower tariff compared to those above the specified level.
It has also sought continuation of special safeguard measures for developed countries, which, according to the India-Brazil-China proposal, are to be available only for developing countries.
The Kenya-Sri Lanka framework dealt mainly with market access but was silent on reduction in export subsidies and domestic support.
To improve market access, the six country alliance has proposed separate tariff reduction formulas for developed and developing countries.
While welcoming the joint US-EU proposal, the other six country alliance comprising Switzerland, Korea, Bulgaria, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the Chinese Taipei has said that countries needed to maintain sufficient levels of support through the amber and blue boxes, though they were not opposed to reductions in trade-distorting domestic support.
Like Japan, they opposed any reduction in green box measures.
On market access, the group recommended the use of the Uruguay Round formula to maintain flexibility and factor in the diversity in agriculture and non trade concerns.
