WTO Efforts For Patch Up On Key Issues

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New Delhi, May 2: In a bid to reach an agreement on a negotiating framework for key issues like agriculture and non-agriculture by July this year, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Council chairman has urged members to work towards arriving at a shared understanding of the format of the package as early as possible.

General Council chairman Shotaro Oshima has warned members that they should not make repetitive statements at the council meeting later this month and focus rather on statements of new positions and on building bridges and resolving difficulties.

Mr Oshima, during an informal meeting of heads of delegation on April 29, urged members to deliver concrete results by July to “ensure the continued progress in the negotiations”.

Since not much progress in negotiations is expected in the latter half of the year mainly due to the US presidential elections, efforts are on to reach an agreement on a framework for negotiations on certain identified issues like agriculture, non-agriculture market access (NAMA) and cotton subsidies by July.

Speaking to FE, commerce ministry officials said that while India, too, wanted talks to progress fast, it would not agree to anything in a hurry and take measured decisions. “What we agree to in areas like agriculture and NAMA will have far-reaching effects on our farmers and industry. So, we have to be very careful,” an official said.

Mr Oshima said that to arrive at a framework in July, the WTO secretariat would need any text for the General Council to be in a well-developed form in the earlier part of July. “In order to get there, we need to start to see a clear picture of the elements of the July substantive package - not necessarily drafting, but a sense of the parameters for drafting - emerging by the end of May,” he said.