Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

India pursuing removal of imbalances in WTO agreement: Maran

Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran said on Monday that India and other developing countries are strongly pursuing removal of "asymmetries and imbalances" in the WTO agreements which have led to some "inequities" in achieving full development of global trade.

"These are the implementation concerns, which India along with other like-minded countries have been pursuing strongly in the WTO", he told the chief ministers' conference on WTO and Agriculture and Food Management in New Delhi.

India strongly opposed inclusion of non-trade issues like labour and environment in the WTO agenda, Maran said, and demands for selective re-negotiations of certain provisions of WTO agreements would depend on the magnitude and compulsions and likely trade-offs thereof.

Referring to demands from some quarters that India should opt out of WTO, Maran said "getting out of WTO may require only a one line letter, but re-entry will involve intense lobbying and conceding more onerous concessions than at present".

Citing the example of China and other countries, he said Beijing has been trying to get into the GATT and then into WTO for about 14 years. Similarly, he said Russia, Vietnam and about 30 other countries are trying their utmost to join the global forum.

Tell us what you think of this report