Imported rubber may come under OGL

He brushed aside rumours in this regard as "wishful thinking by industry". The Rubber Board chairman plans to brief commerce minister Ramakrishna Hegde about the state of affairs in the natural rubber industry.

Industrysources, however, maintain that free imports of natural rubber are inevitable as India has to honour its commitment to WTO. Under the WTO agreement, each country has to extend natural treatment and most favoured nation treatment to the goods and services of other nations. This means that any country which signed the agreement will have to stick to a timeframe for phasing out tariff restrictions for free movement of goods and services under various tariff lines. Sources in the board, however, say that even if the ministry brings natural rubber under OGL imports of the commodity would be minimal as international prices are ruling higher than Indian prices.