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WTO members to end subsidies by 2013
Hong Kong, December 18 After some hard bargaining on the last day of the sixth WTO Ministerial meeting here, the negotiators agreed to phase out farm export subsidies by 2013, deliver a development package to the poorest countries and set a new deadline of April 30, 2006, to complete the full modalities of the agreement. The deal has been welcomed by India, Brazil and other developing countries as well as by the European Union and the USA, although some civil society organisations have flayed the agreement. “The unity of developing countries in the form of grand alliance (G-110) paid off in the negotiations here... the text is a balanced one and outlines the contours of future talks which will take place in early next year yet to finalise the modalities,” Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said. Nath said the concerns of food security and livelihood of poor farmers had been taken on board with the provisions of Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism.The ministerial text would have to be accepted by all members at Heads of Delegations meeting for its adoption as the Hong Kong Declaration. After the disaster in the Cancun Ministerial meeting two years ago, the revised draft, if approved, would salvage trade talks from another embarrassing failure. Also, the developing countries like India could continue to support their farmers as the text exempted them completely from making any reductions in subsidies, he said. The text proposes April 30, 2006, as the new deadline for completion of the modalities and August 31, 2006, for completing the legal schedules for these modalities so as to complete the Doha round negotiations by the end of the next year. The agreement is scheduled for implementation from 2008. In a major step forward, the text proposed for elimination of all export subsidies by developed countries by 2013 but attached a rider that a substantial portion of the support will have to be eliminated by 2010. The G-20, which was pressing for 2010 as the end date, seemed comfortable with the new date. Brazilian Foreign Minister and G-20 coordinator Celso Amorim said the new date was acceptable to the group. It also makes it clear that food aid, given by the developed countries as also their export credits and State Trading Enterprises, will have to be disciplined, details of which will be finalised by April 30 next year. On non-agriculture market access, there is some good news for the Indian industry. The principle of “‘less than full reciprocity” for the developing nations like India has been taken as standalone provision. As per this provision, the developing countries will only have to make two-thirds of the tariff cuts made by the developed countries on manufactured products.
— PTI  |
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