Murasoli Maran at Doha

NOVEMBER 10: Expressing strong opposition to the attempts being made to link non-trade issues with trade at the World Trade Organisation WT...

NOVEMBER 10: Expressing strong opposition to the attempts being made to link non-trade issues with trade at the World Trade Organisation WTO, Union Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran said here that WTO was not a 8220;global government8221; and should not attempt to appropriate to itself what legitimately fell in the domain of national governments and parliaments.

Using the five minutes allotted to each country representative in the plenary session of the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference at Doha, Maran said said what was widely expected for him to say since India has remained steadfast in its opposition to widening the agenda of the WTO. He said that the multilateral trading system could be saved and strengthened only if it focused on international trade.

Criticising the draft ministerial declaration, Maran said that it was neither fair nor just to the viewpoints of many developing countries including India on certain key issues. He said that it was not wise to follow an agenda which would split the WTO. Instead the conference should provide strong impetus to the ongoing negotiations on agriculture and services and the various mandated reviews that by themselves formed a substantial work programme and had consensus.

Not directly opposing a 8220;new round8221; altogether, Maran rejected the idea of a 8220;comprehensive round8221; which includes non-trade issues and hinted support for a limited agenda round revolving around mandated reviews and the Uruguay Round issues. Maran said that sincere efforts should be made here to either resolve outstanding implementation issues or give clear directions on how they should be dealt with. Focusing on India8217;s concerns in the area of market access, the minister said that significant trade barriers in the form of tariff peaks and tariff escalations continue to affect many developing countries8217; exports and have to be addressed.

Maran said in certain areas, new agreements were being proposed even while a study process in the working groups was going on. In the areas of investment, competition, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement, basic questions remained even on the need for a multilateral agreement. 8220;Let us wait till an explicit consensus emerges on these issues,8221; he said.

NOVEMBER 11: In a bid to break the impasse on the launch of a new round of negotiations at the WTO ministerial conference, India said it was agreeable for completion of the ongoing study process on the contentious Singapore issues, particularly investment and competition policy, which has driven a wedge between developed and developing nations.

8220;The continuation of the ongoing study process on these issues is important in view of the inadequate understanding of all the implications,8221; Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran said8230;

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Excerpts from reports in the 8216;Express8217; archives on the 2001 Doha ministerial