Deadlock: India, Brazil slam EU & US

Speaking on behalf of the G-20 coalition, which represents 70 per cent of the world’s farmers, a top Indian negotiator said there is a ‘‘deficit of trust’’ between the developing and developed world over the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) that was kicked off in the Uruguay Round. The AoA, additional secretary, commerce ministry, G K Pillai told the assembled farmer groups, was skewed in favour of developed countries. ‘‘The first and foremost priority of the G-20 is to substantially reduce the trade distorting domestic support extended by EU and US to their farmers.’’

Agriculture is the most structurally imbalanced sector in world trade today, say analysts. Farmers in the EU and US enjoy internal as well as export subsidies of over $300 billion a year adversely affecting the livelihoods of developing country farmers.

The current US proposal on agriculture actually allows them to further increase their subsidies to farmers from the current $21 billion to $22.87 billion till 2016, say Indian officials. The EU’s proposal, on the other hand, is a bit more effective, offering a subsidy cut from 66 billion Euros to 34 billion Euros.

Pillai sought to dispel the belief that India will compromise on agriculture if it got more H1B visas for its labour force. ‘‘We’d not allow the livelihood and food security of people to be compromised.’’

Since 1995 till 2005, the developed countries have enjoyed a ‘peace clause’ that has prevented developing ones from dragging them to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Forum, even if the US and the EU didn’t stick to their promises on reducing trade distorting subsidies to farmers. This clause expired in December 2004 and the US proposal on agriculture asks for an extension of the same, for another ten years.

But the G-20 countries have opposed this and threaten to approach the Dispute Settlement Authority, if the EU and the US try to shift their subsidies under the garb that’s considered to be ‘non-trade distorting’ by the WTO.

‘‘Just 25,000 cotton farmers in the US enjoy subsidies of $3.8 billion, while millions of developing world farmers are losing their livelihoods,’’ Pillai said. Slamming the propaganda being spread by the EU and US against India and Brazil on reducing industrial tariffs, Pillai said that ‘‘India, Brazil and Argentina are prepared for a 50 per cent cut in industrial tariffs by the developing world, as opposed to the 66 per cent mooted by the EU and the US. They are only willing to cut their tariffs by 20-22 per cent, yet they slam us for not doing anything constructive on NAMA.’’

Pillai also lambasted researchers from think-tanks and organisations as the World Bank. ‘‘Just prior to the Uruguay Round, reports said a 25 per cent cut in developed countries’ subsidies to farmers would help developing countries’ farmers as commodity prices would go up. Yet, these countries maintained, even increased their subsidy levels and commodity prices have crashed by 20-30 per cent. Now, similar papers are coming out, advocating a cut in industrial tariffs to 0 per cent.’’

Firm stand

HONG KONG: India will not be rushed into any global trade deal that displaces millions of its farmers and does not give greater market access to products of export interest to India, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on the eve of the sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that begins here on Tuesday. ENS