Closing the Doha Round
It’s a serious mistake for India to walk away from almost a done deal. India can accept a higher trigger and less generous SSM tariffs without compromising the interests of its farmers.
Abstract:
Pascal Lamy, the tireless director general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is in New Delhi trying to break the impasse in the Doha negotiations. New Delhi should oblige the visiting dignitary, not because its current negotiating position is without merit but because it can bring the negotiation to a conclusion without either diluting the overall benefits to India or compromising the interests of its farmers.
The latest round of negotiations ending July 29, 2008 has brought the Doha agreement well within our grasp. So much progress was made during the first six days that by July 27 that only three key issues remained to be resolved: Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) in agriculture, special treatment for cotton, and sector-specific liberalisation initiatives in manufactures. Unfortunately, no further progress could be made in the following two days.
The latest round of negotiations ending July 29, 2008 has brought the Doha agreement well within our grasp. So much progress was made during the first six days that by July 27 that only three key issues remained to be resolved: Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) in agriculture, special treatment for cotton, and sector-specific liberalisation initiatives in manufactures. Unfortunately, no further progress could be made in the following two days.