Speaking at the upper house of the Parliament (Rajya Sabha) during question hour on Wednesday, the Indian minister for commerce and industry, Anand Sharma said : '... An early conclusion of Doha Round is important; India is willing to take part in negotiations at the WTO provided the core concerns of the Round, namely development concerns of developing nations are addressed.'

Sharma's remarks came a day after India expressed its concerns in Geneva that no real progress was visible from the key member countries, despite New Delhi showing desire to re-energise the multi-lateral trade talks

Later in the day Sharma while addressing a seminar hosted by the apex industry body - FICCI - said that India would host a mini-ministerial in Delhi in early September this year which would to participated largely by G-20 countries, the European Union, United States, ACP countries and others to sort out the problems confronting the developing and least developed nations (LDCs) and small and vulnerable economies (SVEs).

On the basis of technical discussions at the WTO some roadmap for negotiations was expected by the end of July, he said and added a full fledged negotiations would most probably resume in September, 2009. But a quick closure was unlikely given the large number of issues remaining unresolved, he said.

He, however, asserted that it was the right time to re-energise the stalled WTO negotiations as according to him the present global financial crisis presents both challenges and opportunities and there are signs of revival in some economies.”Some are of the view that the economic crisis does not augur well for the successful completion of the Doha Round. In my view, however, I am sure you would agree, a fair and satisfactory outcome to the trade negotiations can actually be a catalyst for the combined international effort to break free of the economic crisis.”

Since the G-20 Summit of November 2008 urging countries not to take protectionist measures in trade, he said the many countries resorted to overt protectionist measures at the behest of strong domestic agricultural and industrial interests.

According to a World Bank study, since the beginning of the financial crisis, roughly 78 trade measures have been proposed and implemented. Of these, 66 involved trade restrictions and 47 trade-restricting measures eventually took effect.

Spelling out India's position the minister said that Doha Round's core issue of development cannot be compromised. In the agriculture negotiations, a substantial and effective reduction in domestic support and tariffs on farm products by developed countries and sufficient flexibilities for developing countries to protect and promote the interests of their low income and resource poor farmers is a priority for India.

Under the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations, India has been negotiating for flexibilities that were both appropriate and adequate to protect its cottage, micro, small and agro-based industries, he said.
Sharma further said : “We also have major concerns in the area of fisheries subsidies which form part of the Rules Negotiations. Another area on which negotiations are underway is Services. India is very keen to take the services negotiations forward as services contribute to more than 55% of our GDP and a substantial portion of our trade. Services are a major driver of India's economic growth and development and provide opportunities for gainful employment.”

On the recent demand of some countries for a new approach to the WTO negotiations skipping the modalities stage and moving straight to notifying individual member commitments, Sharma said : “there must first be agreement on modalities. A huge amount of work has gone into preparing the draft texts of December 6, 2008 for agriculture and NAMA and we have made it clear these must be the basis on which further negotiations are held.”

On likely changes in India's own trade regulations, Sharma said he will meet the Union finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee and present the recommendations of the industry bodies and export houses, before unveiling the modifications in the country's foreign trade policy (FTP).

He said that he would come out with a policy which would address the immediate concerns of the exporters.

India's exporters are battling the global demand recession. The country's exports are in negative zone since October 2008. The FTP broadly spells out the priority segments in external trade and also gives incentives and disincentives depending on the country's need.

In the Union Budget 2009-10, the government has extended sops for exporters like interest subsidy and an insurance cover till March 2010.

The minister has earlier stated that FTP is likely to lay more emphasis on incentivising export diversification to non-traditional areas. The government is also considering a fresh stimulus for the exporters.

The Board of Trade (BoT) headed by Sharma would also meet in the first week of August, before unveiling the new FTP. Sharma replaced noted industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla as head of the BoT. The BoT had not met over the last two years.#