India has expressed concern over the ?slow progress? in post Bali talks of the WTO on arriving at a permanent solution on safeguards to run food security programmes of developing nations and a ‘package’ for least developed countries (LDC), even as it indicated that work is gaining ground on trade facilitation at the behest of some developed countries.
The Bali talks for a global trade deal had arrived at an agreement to ease trade by reducing red tape and improving infrastructure. The WTO member countries have to submit commitments in July with regard to the trade facilitation agreement.
In return for the agreement on trade facilitation, developing countries, including India, had got a relief from action on the subsidies given to farmers for purchasing crops for their food security programme.
Though it was agreed that a long-term solution to the food security issue would be given priority post Bali, commerce secretary Rajeev Kher told reporters that work on LDC issues and a permanent solution on food security is going slow compared to the trade facilitation issue.
?The pace of work on these issues should be the same. We have informed the WTO that this way of progressing only on trade facilitation issues will make it difficult for developing countries to agree on many issues,? he added.
? Though the developing countries have protection till a permanent solution is found on food security, they are keen to ensure a permanent solution at the earliest,? he said, adding that, ?We do not want to take the supposedly interim measures (on food security) as a permanent solution as only a permanent solution will give predictability and certainty.?
Meanwhile, he said the commerce ministry favours the imposition of anti-dumping duty on solar cells as recommended by the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties on imported solar panels from the US, Malaysia, China and Chinese Taipei to protect domestic manufacturers.
The DGAD recommendations came even as the US had taken India to the WTO on domestic sourcing norms for the national solar mission. Transport minister Nitin Gadkari, the ministry of new and renewable energy and solar power producers have opposed imposition of the duty.