India plans strategy for WTO negotiations

The Commerce ministry will begin consultations with research institutes to firm up its negotiating strategy at the World Trade Organisation....

The Commerce ministry will begin consultations with research institutes to firm up its negotiating strategy at the World Trade Organisation. Based on the framework agreement reached by members in Geneva last month, the stalled trade talks are scheduled to re-start in September.

Commerce ministry officials said the ministry needs to work on its future negotiating strategy based on the framework agreement reached in July. ‘‘We are in consultations with various research institutes which will help us work out our strategy in various areas like agriculture, non-agriculture and services,’’ an official said.

Meetings of various negotiating groups at the WTO headquarters in Geneva is slated to begin after September 15, when the office opens after a break.

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With the US busy with its Presidential elections, talks are expected to be low-key at least till the end of the year. ‘‘India has a lot of time to prepare for the discussions as negotiations will start to gain pace not before the beginning of the new year,’’ sources said.

While India is happy with the flexibilities it created for developing countries in the framework agreement for agriculture, a lot of work needs to be done to turn it into actual gains in the negotiations.

The ministry will have to prepare a list of products where it wants special treatment and will also have to decide on how much tariff reduction would be acceptable to India.

Similarly, in the area of non-agriculture, the country has to decide on the tariff reduction formula to support and what special and differential treatment it should demand.

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India also has to explore the possibility of forming gainful alliances, like the G-20 group in agriculture, to make its voice louder in the negotiations, officials said, adding that India and China had a lot of interests in common and the two were planning to work together in a number of areas like textiles.