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Geneva, Jul 25: With the World Trade Organisation (WTO) postponing the talks on services without announcing a fresh date, India on Friday said it would make sure that there is some give and take by countries on services before the mini-ministerial talks end.
Commerce minister Kamal Nath said he would ensure that there are discussions on services before the talks end this week or early next week and that good deal in services would be made part of the July 2008 package, if the ministers’ talks do not break down.
Differences persist between developing and the developed world in liberalisation commitments in agriculture and industrial goods, prompting the WTO to postpone the talks on services.
Nath had earlier written to WTO director general Pascal Lamy that if developed nations do not make binding commitments in services, there would be no final agreement.
India had said it would aggressively push for substantial market access for its services in the developed world, especially regarding free movement of service suppliers across borders and outsourcing.
On services negotiations, Nath said he was here to do some serious business and did not want the Signalling Conference on services to be a cocktail party. He said he expects the Conference to be serious negotiating forum.
Nath said he did not want the services signalling conference to be shifted to a later date as India, with huge interests in services, was keen on giving shape to what it was getting and giving. He added that Lamy, however, had told him that there was a rhythm now to resolve issues on agriculture and industrial goods and therefore other discussions would have to be postponed.
The ministers’ signaling conference on services would indicate as to which all countries are willing to provide market access in different service sectors. It however, would not be the final stand on services.
Pointing to the restrictive domestic regulations in the developed countries that are hampering market access to India in developing countries, Nath had told the Trade Negotiations Committee that all sectors of interests to developing countries. Correction of domestic regulations lies at the heart of services talks.
“We are willing to do significantly more (in opening services sectors for developed countries) but it depends on whether they are willing to reciprocate on the limited demands that we have,” he had said.
Officials said that chairman of WTO Council for Trade in Services and ambassador Fernando de Mateo of Mexico circulated a report recently asking WTO member countries to come up with five key areas of demands and offers each during the Services Signalling Conference.
India’s major interests are on Mode 1 and Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services. Mode 1 that is officially known as cross-border trade, refers to services supplied from one country to another -eg. BPOs or international telephone calls, while mode 4 in official jargon is presence of natural persons and is regarding individuals like consultants or software professionals travelling from their own country to another nation to supply services.
However, the US and the EU are yet to make any major concessions in these two aspects. Developed countries had indicated that only if they get market access in developing nations for their agriculture and industrial goods, they would in return open their services markets for the developing nations.
India was upset over the draft report of services that was released on May 27 as it did not offer much on Mode 1 and 4.
Services exports accounts for 40% of India’s total exports of goods and services. In 2007-08, India’s services exports were worth $86 billion in 2007-08. The services sector comprises around 55% of the country’s GDP and provides employment to around 142 million people, which is 28% of India’s workforce.
Among the sectors that India is demanding significant market access in the developed country markets are IT and IT-enabled services, telecommunication, construction, engineering, health, R&D. However, due to restrictive domestic regulations in the developed countries, Indian professionals in these fields have been finding it difficult to get short-term visas to offer their services in those countries.
India, however, is not pressing for immigration of its professionals to the developed world in the services sector. It has however pointed out that until now the talks have been only on some sectors like banking and retail that are of interest mainly to the developed countries.
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