Nath asks rich nations to be givers and not takers

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Geneva, Jul 23 : Fresh from winning the vote of confidence of the UPA government, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday returned to the mini-ministerial meeting of the Doha Development Round negotiations of the World Trade Organisation and played hardball giving little in return for the offers put on the table by the developed country leaders—the US on cutting its overall trade distorting farm subsides to $15 billion and the EU on bringing down its farm tariffs to 60%.

He said he was here to take forward the talks with renewed motivation. The minister, however, said, “this was a roun d where developed countries have to put something on the table and not come and look into the pockets of the developing countries.”

When asked if he would wait till the US and the EU make their rock bottom offers before he puts forward Indias return offers, Nath told mediapersons that there was no question of making any compromises on Indias core concerns—protection of the livelihood concerns of millions of poor farmers in India and other developing countries as well as the interests of Indias infant and vulnerable industries.

“When I am negotiating, I am willing to negotiate commerce. I am not willing to negotiate livelihood security, I am not willing to negotiate subsistence, I am not willing to negotiate poverty. So if I am here, I am here to negotiate commerce, which I am doing,” the minister said. Earlier in the day too, Nath made a similar statement at the Trade Negotiations Committee meeting saying “the poor of the world will not forgive us if we compromise on these (livelihood and food security) concerns. These concerns are too vital to be the subject of trade-offs. A successful outcome (of the Doha Round) will require a full addressal of these concerns.”

On industrial goods negotiations, Nath said he was astonished by the statement of the rich countries that countries like India are holding back on providing market access and pointed out that last year US exports to India expanded by 35% and Indias total import of industrial goods increase by over 30% annually.

“I am obviously not here to hand around freebies without getting something in return. Let me also say that those who accuse us of not moving on market access, have not moved an inch since the Uruguay Round in reducing high tariffs or tariff peaks on exports of developing countries,” he said. Terming the US offer to cut their (OTDS) to 15 billion dollars as “wholly inadequate” and not commensurate with the current increase in food prices and with the demands of the developing countries, Nath said, “it is hardly an offer when they are applying $7 billion. There is no shoe which pinches there.”

He said India and the developing countries were instead looking at the real cuts in the OTDS amount. Nath hoped that the US offer was just an opening gambit and not their bottom line as 15 billion dollar really makes no impact on the US current applied levels of subsides. The US had made the offer only in exchange for more market access in developing countries for their agriculture and industrial goods. The developing countries had asked the US to bring down its OTDS to the low-teen levels (around $12 billion ).

The agricultural talks also need to tackle market access barriers in developed countries due to high tariffs and other restrictions, Nath said.

India also expressed dissatisfaction over the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) in the agriculture negotiation text. SSM available to protect the poor farm sector in developing countries continues to be weaker than a similar mechanism available to rich countries.