WTO DG says TFA will Cut Cost by 15%

The Minister of State for Commerce urged WTO to be more responsive to the needs of developing and least-developed countries. Speaking at The Partnership Summit 2015 in Jaipur on 16 January 2015, Sitharaman expressed concern that some countries have started to equate only free trade with development.

Development encompasses other things besides trade including the burden to feed over 32 per cent of India’s poor who live under abject poverty - a concern that the WTO recognised. The Minister urged the members of the WTO to show the same urgency on food stockholding as the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) under the Bali Package.

Mr. Roberto Azevedo, Director General, World Trade Organisation (WTO) said that the Bali Package will deliver on the development front by enhancing developing countries’ ability to integrate into the world economy. Mr. Azevedo also highlighted India’s contribution to the multilateral trading system.

Mr. Azevedo noted that the benefits of TFA will be visible to Indian industry as competitiveness and exports will receive a boost once members ratify the agreement. The TFA will bring down trade costs by 15 per cent and bolster south-south trade. He added that the remaining issues under the DDA will need to be refocused before the Ministerial Conference in Nigeria at the end of the year.

Earlier welcoming the participants to the session, Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that the expectations from the WTO in delivering on the development front were high. He noted that twelve years of negotiations have resulted in the Bali Package, an important albeit small part of the Doha Development Round’s initial ambition to rebalance the global trading system. Much more needs to be done very quickly.

[Source: PIB (MoC&I) Press Release dated 16^th January 2015]