India Stance at WTO on 25 July

Following is the text of the Statement made by India at the General Council Meeting of World Trade Organization (WTO) at Geneva on 25 July.

“I thank you Chair for your assessment of the state of play and the Chairs of various Committees for their reports.

“India is seriously concerned about the lack of progress on some of the Bali outcomes and minimal movement on the others. Although discussions on the DDA work programme - the timeline for which is December, 2014, - may have started for the sake of form, we seem to be repeating our past mistakes.

“While meetings have taken place on some of the Bali issues, they have not even resulted in the contours within which those issues are to be discussed further and resolved. Discussions on the Bali Decision on public stockholding have not even commenced despite repeated requests by the G-33 and the proposals already on the table. Some of the LDC issues have been similarly left behind.

“Having signed on to the Ministerial Decisions in Bali, let there be no doubt about India’s commitment to those Decisions including the Trade Facilitation Agreement. All we are asking is that the public stockholding issue as well as other decisions of Bali be taken forward in the same timeframe as Trade Facilitation.

“India is of the view that the Trade Facilitation Agreement must be implemented only as part of a single undertaking including the permanent solution on food security.

“In order to fully understand and address the concerns of Members on the TF Agreement, my delegation is of the view that the adoption of the TF Protocol be postponed till a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security is found. In this context we have suggested a modification to the Protocol in the PrepCom. We stand by that proposal. The Bali outcomes were negotiated as a package and must be concluded as such. “

We suggest the following course of action:

(1) Establish immediately an institutional mechanism such as a dedicated Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture to find a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security.

(2) There must be clear-cut procedures, timelines and outcomes under this institutional mechanism so as to arrive at a permanent solution by 31st December 2014.

(3) A similar approach must be adopted on all other elements of the Bali Package notably the LDC issues.

(4) The progress of these accelerated discussions must be reviewed in October 2014 by the General Council.