Us stalls india at wto

Us stalls india at wto

Setback and much work ahead for Modi Govt

THE Buenos Aires ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as expected, collapsed due to the unyielding US position on India’s demand for a permanent “time-bound” decision on keeping out public stockholding of foodgrains from the purview of subsidy caps. It reflects as much on India’s flawed negotiating line as it does on the absence of sympathy in the developed world to build up food security in the impoverished third world. India may be an emerging economic giant but is also home to 600 million poor people. Ensuring food security is the fundamental duty for any government worth its salt; also imperative is a network of subsidies for enabling the poor to have access to decent food. Given that ours is primarily an agrarian economy, and agriculture is not sustainable, a permanent solution to the food stockpiling issue is of utmost importance to us.

A permanent solution was slated for 2017. When the US reneged on the promise at the Buenos Aires WTO Ministerial, India raised the ante, declining to negotiate on the issue. The US has refused to acknowledge that public stockholding for food security is a livelihood issue and, thus, cannot be compromised upon. But the US, with the insensitivity that marks its “America-First” rhetoric in most international dealings, chose to ride roughshod over the concerns of most WTO members.

The irony is that lopsided rules, framed when developing countries were wet-behind-the ears about the intricacies of WTO, allow the developed world to enjoy unfairly huge disproportionate entitlements to agriculture sops. Ever since the poorer countries realised this distortion, they have been demanding a more level playing field. But the rich have refused to engage on the issue. Though India has China and several developing countries in its corner, its choices are stark if it wishes to play by WTO rules: scale down MSP or forget public stockholding. And to avoid being challenged for breaching the subsidy cap, India will have to become proactive on free trade agreements, in which it has been a laggard. A major but non-traditional foreign policy headache looms ahead for the Modi government.

Courtesy : The Tribune Editorial