- The key areas of discussions and negotiations for the WTO 2022 conference for India include–Fisheries subsidies negotiations, Agriculture issues including Public Stockholding for Food Security, WTO Reforms, and Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmission
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal will lead the Indian delegation at the 12th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference today, June 12. According to Commerce Ministry, the conference is being held in Geneva, Switzerland after a gap of almost five years. The key areas of discussions and negotiations for the WTO 2022 conference for India include–Fisheries subsidies negotiations, Agriculture issues including Public Stockholding for Food Security, WTO Reforms, and Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmission.
AGRICULTURE
In May this year, the Director-General of the WTO brought three draft texts on agriculture, trade, and food security and exemption of the World Food Programme from export restrictions for negotiations.
India has reservations about some of the provisions in the draft decisions and has been engaging in the process of discussions and negotiations in order to be able to preserve the rights under the Agreement on Agriculture without undermining the existing Ministerial mandates.
An important issue under negotiation at the WTO relates to the protection of India’s food grain procurement programme at Minimum Support Prices (MSP). Such programmes involve purchases from farmers at administered prices and are key to support farmers and consumers in the country. WTO rules limit the subsidy that can be provided to such products being procured. This issue is being negotiated at the WTO by the G-33, a coalition of developing countries of which India is a key member, and the African Group which has come together along with the ACP group in submitting a proposal on a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes on 31 May 2022.
In the negotiations, improvements are being sought by developing countries over the Ministerial Decision adopted at the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Bali in December 2013 where Members agreed to negotiate a permanent solution on the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes by the 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO. It was agreed that in the interim, until a permanent solution is reached, Members would exercise due restraint (commonly termed as ‘peace clause’) in raising disputes in respect of public stockholding programmes for food security purposes instituted before 7th December 2013, even if countries exceeded their permissible limits. Consequent to the firm stand taken by India at the WTO, this peace clause was extended by a decision of the WTO General Council (GC) in November 2014 until a permanent solution was agreed upon and adopted. Thus, it was ensured that the ‘peace clause’ would be available in perpetuity. At the Nairobi Ministerial Conference held in December 2015, WTO members agreed to engage constructively to negotiate a permanent solution. India neither wants to link PSH issue with other Agriculture issues nor a Work Programme as negotiating a permanent solution has a standalone mandate at the WTO.
Another issue under discussion relates to additional disciplines on export restrictions on agricultural products. The proponents of export restrictions are seeking outcome on two issues: (i) exemption of foodstuffs purchased for non-commercial humanitarian purposes by the World Food Programme (WFP) from the application of export restrictions, and (ii) advance notification of export restrictive measures, including improving compliance with existing notification requirements. Under the provisions of the relevant WTO rules, WTO Members can temporarily impose export prohibitions or restrictions to prevent or relieve critical shortages of foodstuffs or other products essential to the country. India has concerns about making notification requirements burdensome for developing country Members in view of the sensitivities regarding shortages, price escalations, and the implications of providing advance notice of such measures on the effectiveness of policies.
WTO Fisheries Negotiations
India is keen to finalize the fisheries agreement in the upcoming MC-12 because irrational subsidies and overfishing by many countries are hurting Indian fishermen and their livelihood.
“India needs Special and Differential Treatment to protect the livelihoods of poor fishers and address food security concerns of a nation, have the necessary policy space for developing the fisheries sector, and sufficient time for to put in place systems to implement the disciplines under Over Capacity and Over Fishing, Illegal, Unreported Unregulated and Over Fished. India believes that the fisheries agreement has to be seen in the context of existing international instruments and the laws of the sea. The sovereign rights of coastal States to explore and manage the living resources within their maritime jurisdiction, enshrined in international instruments, must be protected,” the Ministry of Commerce said.
E-COMMERCE
In 1998, the General Council (GC) of the WTO established the Work Programme on E-Commerce (WPEC), with an exploratory and non-negotiating mandate, to comprehensively examine all trade-related issues relating to global e-commerce, taking into account the economic, financial, and development needs of developing countries. Under the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on E-commerce, launched in 2017, 86 WTO Members are negotiating trade rules on issues such as electronic authentication, non-discriminatory treatment of digital products, free flow of cross-border data, data localization, permanent e-commerce moratorium, online consumer protection, personal data protection, access to source codes.
India believes negotiation on rules and disciplines in e-commerce would be premature given the highly asymmetrical nature of the existing global e-commerce space and lack of understanding of the implications of the multi-faceted dimensions of issues related to e-commerce. Developing countries need to preserve flexibility to implement policies to ‘catch-up’ with the developed countries in the digital arena.
“We first need to focus on improving domestic physical and digital infrastructure, creating supportive policy and regulatory framework, and developing our digital capabilities,” the ministry added.
Covid-19 pandemic
India has sought recognition of the difficulties faced by developing countries and Least developed countries (LDC) in utilising Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) flexibilities. India wants that the WTO response needs to address supply-side constraints for the WTO’s response to the pandemic.
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