Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said on Monday ?the impasse has been broken? over the World Trade Organisation?s long-running Doha round of world trade talks, a comment that took by surprise trade experts. But senior commerce ministry officials said the minister was only reiterating the position, expressed at a meeting of the Cairn Group, where the USA had offered to take a fresh look at its far subsidy bill.
In an interview to Reuters, on Monday, Sharma said, ?There is much happening now. The impasse has been broken?. According to him both the United States and India had emerged from elections with new governments ready to reach an agreement.
?India is keen that the WTO negotiations resume. It is important in the present economic climate that efforts are made to take the Doha process to its successful conclusion?.
Trade ministers were close to an agreement in July 2008, to be known as the Doha round of talks, but the deal collapsed over a dispute between USA and emerging economies spearheaded by India over proposals to help farmers in poor nations.
The Cairns Group brings together 19 nations that account for more than 25% of the world?s agricultural exports.
According to Bibek Debroy, economist at the Centre for Policy Research, the minister?s comments were surprising. ?The difference between India and the USA is on the special safeguard mechanism that we are keen to retain?. The WTO dialogue is difficult to begin unless the USA has come round to the Indian view or India has abandoned its position, he said.
Biswajit Dhar, head for the centre for WTO Studies at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, said the minister has however kept his escape route open. He said Sharma? comments were in the context of the remarks made by Ron Kirk, the United States Trade Representative at the Cairn Group meeting. ?It is more or less consistent with the Indian position, but we will have to see if this is enough to break the impasse?.
In the interview Sharma said, ?Well, we have declared our commitment. Why should India not want it? But a solution (should take) care of the legitimate aspirations of the developing countries?.
?This assumption that it was India which was an obstacle that may not be true at all because there are other issues on which convergence did not take place,? he added.
?But that is behind us. What is more important is the positive engagement and the initiative of India at Cairns which has broken the logjam.?
Sharma said India?s offer to host a G-20 summit would help define a roadmap to draw the WTO talks to a conclusion.
Ahead of his meeting in Washington, the minister said he was positive that the two countries could see eye-to-eye on trade talks and hinted that India would be willing to further open up its markets to U.S. business.
?It?s a two way process when we talk of engagement and I don?t see any restrictions being there or the issue of access,? he said, referring to trade relations with the United States.