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NEW DELHI, JUNE 25: After disengaging itself from the Group of Four, India has informed the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that it wants the Doha talks, which is aimed at achieving global trade agreement, to continue at the WTO headquarters in Geneva.
"WTO Director General Pascal Lamy has spoken to Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath who has shown India's desire to speed up discussions at official levels in Geneva," official sources said in New Delhi.
In fact, sources said all the trade ministers of the G4 -- India, Brazil, European Union and the US – have separately spoken to Lamy and wanted the negotiations to continue, notwithstanding the failure of talks among themselves last week at Potsdam in Germany.
The failure of the Potsdam negotiations meant "end of the road for G-4," as Nath said on his return from the talks. The talks collapsed in the backdrop of wide differences between the US and EU on one side and India and Brazil on the other.
While India and Brazil had made demands for sharp cuts in the trade distorting farm subsidies in the rich nations, the EU and the US wanted the "advanced developing countries" to open their market for the agri products.
He had cautioned the US and the EU against attempts to divide the unity of the developing countries, which have come together for protecting their trade interests under various groupings such as G-20, G-33 and G-90.
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab had put the blame on India and Brazil for shifting the "goal posts" and wanted these "advanced developing countries" to be ready to give extended market to the less developing nations.
"Since when Susan Schwab has become champion of the developing countries," Nath asked. |