The Hindu Business Line : WTO meet: Stalemate on farm, export subsidies continues

A DAY after its inauguration, the sixth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation here limped forward with few signs of the deadlock between the developed and developing countries on finalising the Doha Development Round agenda being broken.

The key issue, as was apparent even during the run-up to the ministerial meeting, remains the farm and export subsidies of the developed countries to which the developing countries are opposed and have linked to discussion in the areas of industrial tariffs and services.

Nevertheless, Wednesday was witness to some intense discussions and posturing among the informal trade groups formed by developing countries. The situation prevailed even as Mr Peter Mandelson, European Union Trade Commissioner, and Mr Rob Portman, US Trade Representative, at different meetings called upon the negotiators to move forward the global trade talks.

`Engage in serious dialogue': Calling upon the trade negotiators to engage "in serious dialogue," Mr Mandelson pointed out once in the decision-making green room, instead of negotiation "you get to see posturing [among the developing countries]."

India, whose statements have come to symbolise the stand of the developing countries, struck to its position that any discussion on Non-Agricultural Market Access (industrial tariff) was not possible without firm commitments from the developed countries on the farm and export subsidies. Stating that there had been little movement in the meeting, the Union Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, said he was not averse to taking the blame for any stalemate as resolving the issues in agriculture was important to hundreds of millions of poor farmers in the developing countries. He added that more countries were joining the informal group of developing countries, formed by India on Tuesday, on NAMA.

Development-trading link: Earlier, addressing a plenary session of the ministerial conference, the Minister said development and the global trading system were closely linked. "Trade commitments that throw hundreds of millions of people already on the edge of subsistence into a chasm of poverty and unemployment simply cannot be supported," he declared.

Even while pointing that the Doha round could not be completed without an agreement on agriculture, Mr Kamal Nath called for elimination of tariff peaks and tariff escalation, to help the small and medium enterprises, obtain effective access to developed country markets.

Oxfam slams aid for trade: The developed countries also came in criticism from Oxfam, a leading non-government organisation. Responding to the recent announcements by the US, the EU and Japan to increase their aid for trade (to developing countries), Mr Phil Bloomer, head of the `Make Trade Fair Campaign' of Oxfam, said the aid is needed, but it must not be substitute for fairer trade rules.

"At this meeting, rich countries are going backwards on the issues of vital importance for development and trying to use aid offers as a fig leaf for their selfish behaviour. They need to get back to addressing their promises to reform agricultural trade rules so that poor countries do not continue to lose out, Mr Bloomer said in a statement.