Cabinet clears ‘unbundling’ of S’pore issues

The Cabinet has, however, opposed any agreement on investment, while it has signalled that even on competition policy there can be some willingness to discuss the issue.

Much would depend on the extent of developing country support available to India. The Union Cabinet’s approval, it is reliably learnt, is tied to the extent of support available on India’s stated position. However, on investment India has drawn a firm bottomline. Rather than accept a multilateral agreement on par with other WTO agreements, India wil advocate a “plurilateral” agreement with an “opt-in or opt-out” clauses that do not bind all WTO members. This will enable some to join the negotiations, leaving others out.

The Singapore Issues are championed by developed countries, whereas developing countries do not view the issues quite favourably. According to developed nations, these issues are a natural corollary of the trade-related investment measures (TRIMS) agreement. Singapore Issues are also expected to help multinational corporations acquire greater penetration in developing economies.

Experts view the championing of Singapore Issues by developed nations as part of their strategy to counter the demand of developing countries on the farm sector. The European Union wants the initiation of discussions on the Singapore Issues after the WTO meet at Cancun. However, there are differences even among developed countries on the finer aspects of the Singapore Issues. India wants the Singapore Issues to be unbundled. Given a choice, it would like to keep the investment issues apart from the WTO.

However, the Indian government is apprehensive that the resistance of the developing countries to the Singapore Issues may vanish when developed countries pressurise them, the high-sounding rhetoric notwithstanding. The Indian government is of the view that there may be plurilateral agreements on the Singapore Issues. This is the reason that the Union Cabinet has given flexibility to the negotiators at Cancun.