Farm issues hold key to WTO deal

Agriculture will continue to be the main issue in the run-up to the World Trade Organisation's ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December.

India has, however, managed to make substantial progress on some agriculture related issues such as export competition, India's ambassador to the WTO Ujal Singh Bhatia said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Business Standard, Bhatia said the G-20 meeting in the Capital later this week would provide an opportunity for developing countries to come out with the first approximation for modalities under agriculture.

"We need to finalise what is it that the G-20 would like out of the negotiations in agriculture. We will aim at preparing the first approximation for the modalities in agriculture, which can be worked upon in the run-up to the Hong Kong Ministerial. This can serve as a draft of the draft text," he said.

The G-20 countries include China, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Pakistan, Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Thailand, the Philippines, Nigeria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Terming agriculture as the "make or break" issue, Bhatia said countries like India would work towards ensuring that export subsidies were removed and that trade distorting subsidies were reduced.

"It will also be our effort to ensure that in the intervening period, given our sensitivities in agriculture, we are not denied market access for our products," he said.

Bhatia said: "In the last few days, we have made good progress in terms of defining the concept of export competition. The only thing remaining now is to finalise the deadline or the time frame for removing export subsidies."

Regarding progress in domestic support and market access, he said the issue of market access was proving to be a stumbling block as many developed countries were not willing to share data on ad-valorem tariff lines which needed to be converted into specific duties.

"Following a meeting in Mombassa earlier this month of the FIPs (five interested parties), which includes India, the developed countries have agreed to provide data. We now have to work out the methodology for converting specific data into ad-valorem so that it can be used as the basis for tariff reduction," he said.

He also said that India was working with other countries to present a paper on non-agriculture market access. Countries like the US and Mexico, and the European Union, have already submitted papers, he added.