WTO talks end with no decision on key issues of agri, fisheries subsidies

PSH programme is a policy tool under which the government procures crops like rice and wheat from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP), stores and distributes foodgrains to the poor.

The 13th ministerial conference (MC), which was supposed to end on February 29, got extended by a day due to the logjam but despite the four days of hectic parleys getting extended for a day, the 166-member WTO was not able to reach a common ground for resolving the food security issue, a demand raised prominently by India, and curbing subsidies that leads to overfishing and over capacity.

The negotiations at the WTO’s ministerial conference ended with no decision on key issues of India’s interest including finding a permanent solution to public food Public Stockholding (PSH) programme and on curbing fisheries subsidies that lead to over-capacity and over fishing. However, the WTO members agreed to further extend the moratorium on imposing import duties on e-commerce trade for two more years.

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“MC13 marks, yet again, the failure to deliver either the permanent solution on public stockholding, or the Special Safeguard Mechanism, or disciplines on cotton subsidies. Global South countries have been demanding outcomes on these mandated issues in order to get the needed policy space to meet their food security and livelihood concerns. Many of these mandates are much more than a decade old. There is nothing for Net Food Importing Developing Countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) either. While Nairobi mandates on these issues will continue it is clear that the WTO is massively trailing behind on commitment to deliver on its promises”– Ranja Sengupta, Senior Researcher and Legal Advisor, Third World Network.

The Cairns group, comprising countries like Australia and Brazil, has claimed that public stockholding is market-distorting and that there should be no export restrictions. Food-importing countries like Japan and Singapore are pushing for predictability in farm policies.

On the other hand, the US wants market access for its agri commodities, and the EU wants a cut in subsidies.

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“Negotiators this week had an opportunity to make meaningful cuts to subsidies for large-scale distant water fishing fleets; yet the big fishing nations refused to accept any responsibility to take meaningful cuts. The proposed text was toothless and was right to be rejected,” Adam Wolfenden, Deputy Coordinator, Pacific Network on Globalisation.

Earlier, India and South Africa also blocked a proposal led by China on investment facilitation stating that the agenda is out of the WTO mandate. India has also blocked a proposal of the European Union on industrial policy.

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The ministerial conference also managed to get at least five outcomes such as new disciplines on domestic regulation for services, formal joining of Comoros and Timor-Leste as members of the WTO, and least developing countries continuing to get the benefits of LDC even three years after graduation.

PSH programme is a policy tool under which the government procures crops like rice and wheat from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP), stores and distributes foodgrains to the poor. As part of a permanent solution, India has asked for measures like amendments in the formula to calculate the food subsidy cap.

Developing nations including India were asking for updating the external reference prices used to calculate market price support in public stockholding, which are currently based on 1986-88 reference prices.

Ravi Dutta Mishra

Ravi Dutta Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, covering policy issues related to trade, commerce, and banking. He has over five years of experience and has previously worked with Mint, CNBC-TV18, and other news outlets. ... Read More