India ‘Very Happy’ with WTO Conference Result
India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal expressed satisfaction with the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, stating that the country has complete rights to protect the interests of poor farmers and small fishermen. The country can continue buying food grains from farmers at assured prices and distributing them to poor people under the public distribution system without any restrictions from WTO rules. Despite concerns that this could be challenged at WTO, Goyal said India protected all its interests fully during the tough negotiations.
Key issues like bringing disciplines on agriculture subsidies and fisheries subsidies were not resolved due to long discussions between WTO member countries. The final talks, originally scheduled to end on February 29, had to be extended by one extra day. However, some good outcomes were achieved, such as extending the current ban on imposing customs duties on electronic commerce transactions by 2 more years.
India also strengthened its protection of the livelihoods of small-holding farmers and fishermen by actively pursuing its offensive negotiating interests to push rules in India’s favor. The ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions, which came into force in 1998, was extended by 2 more years until March 2024. Goyal explained that since WTO member countries had not held detailed discussions on the aspects of this moratorium during the one-year period between the last 12th Ministerial Conference and this 13th Conference, India felt it was pragmatic to simply continue the moratorium temporarily.
India successfully kept non-trade-related issues out of WTO negotiations, ensuring that the mandate of WTO negotiations remains focused on trade-related aspects like import duties and quotas under global trade rules.
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