Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Sunday, Jan 16, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Sunday, Jan 16, 2005 |
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Industry & Economy
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Anti-dumping EU trade chief pledges `sparing' approach to anti-dumping issues Our Bureau
Mr Peter Mandelson
Kolkata , Jan. 15 THE new EU Trade Commissioner, Mr Peter Mandelson, has pledged to adopt a rigorous, disciplined and sparing approach to the use of anti-dumping and other trade defence instruments. "But I want India to act in the same spirit. India shares the interest of Europe and other WTO members in a further strengthening of the multilateral rules based system, so that trade can be conducted fairly and transparently," said Mr Mandelson. He suggested that rules must be used properly. On non-agricultural market access, the commissioner said India still had a rather "restrictive trade regime overall, including the highest average tariffs in the world and a range of non-tariff barriers such as import bans and mandatory certification requirements." Market opening, he said, in the long run, would have a positive impact on growth and competitiveness in the country. The Doha Round, if it is to succeed, must yield a balanced outcome between the negotiations on agriculture and other areas, such as market access for industrial goods, services, trade facilitation and anti-dumping. At the CII Partnership Summit 2005 on `India and the EU: New Equations" here recently, Mr Mandelson said, "India's approach to the Doha Round of trade will, for me and many others, be a litmus test of India's commitment to progressive domestic economic opening." Later, talking to newspersons, he said, as the Trade Commissioner of EU, his highest priority was to help bring a successful conclusion the Doha Development Agenda, as India and EU had a shared interest in its success. "For me, the test of success will be whether we can now work as political partners in settling Doha." Describing India and the EU as natural partners, Mr Mandelson said both EU and the Indian industry had done an excellent job in identifying the obstacles to trade in eight important sectors through the Joint Initiative for Enhancing Trade and Investment. Describing Seattle and Cancun as setbacks, he said the July package of last year, especially in attacking agricultural export subsidies, marked an important milestone, and "both the EU and India played an important role in achieving that. The Doha Development Agenda, he said, had to yield results from which all participants can claim to be winners. Admitting that Europe was today facing a huge challenge from Asia, from the trade perspective, Mr Mandelson said India and EU need to work together for the rest of the world. Suggesting that everyone needs to be ambitious for the Hong Kong Ministerial Round in December this year, he said there was a need to bring more to the table. Pointing out that negotiations on services were now at a critical stage, Mr Mandelson said it could flounder if more "ambitious offers are not made by the deadline we have set of this May." He said, "Europe cannot treat India as we would (treat) an advanced developed economy. We have to take account of your circumstances. But equally, India cannot behave over Doha like a poor developing country." Urging India to assume the risks and responsibilities of leadership, he said, "I offer you Europe's partnership in doing so."
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