Category: Agreement on Agriculture (AoA)

With elections underway, even as different political parties compete with each other to promise more subsidies, there is trouble brewing for India at World Trade Organization [WTO] – the multilateral body which binds member countries to a common set of rules with regard to trade in goods and services with ‘fairness’ and ‘non-discrimination’ as the underlying principles. In May, 2018, in a hard hitting submission made to WTO Committee on Agriculture [CoA], the United States had lambasted India for indulging in substantial under-reporting of its market price support [MPS] program for wheat and paddy farmers alleging that the sops given by government far exceed the permissible limit. This was a counter to the latter’s notification to WTO in March, 2018....

Ever since, Donald Trump took charge, he has made systematic efforts to demolish the very foundation of World Trade Organization [WTO] which is the epitome of ‘free’ and ‘fair’ trade based on transparent and non-discriminatory rules. At the 11th WTO ministerial conference held in Buenos Aires during December 10-13, 2017, the USA rejected the demand of developing countries for finding a ‘permanent solution’ to stockholding for food security which was agreed to four years ago in the 9th ministerial held in Bali. Still worse, it has dumped the Doha Development Agenda [DDA] which has been assiduously pursued by all members of WTO ever since 2001. Second, in complete defiance of rules under WTO, it has hiked import duty on steel...

In a hard hitting submission made to the WTO [World Trade Organization] Committee on Agriculture [CoA], the United States has castigated India for indulging in substantial under-reporting of its market price support [MPS] program for wheat and paddy farmers alleging that the sops given by the government far exceed the permissible limit. Under the Agreement on Agriculture [AoA], a developing member country cannot give aggregate measurement support [AMS] – WTO nomenclature for subsidies – in excess of 10% of the value of its agricultural production. The AMS includes ‘product-specific’ subsidies and ‘non-product specific’ viz. subsidies on agricultural inputs viz., fertilizers, seed, irrigation, electricity etc. The ‘product-specific’ subsidy is excess of minimum support price [MSP] paid to farmers over the external...

The 11th WTO [World Trade Organization] ministerial which started on December 10, 2017 in Buenos Aires with pomp and show has ended in whimper. After four days of marathon deliberations [in the plenary, group meetings and bilateral], even the efforts by director general, Roberto Azevedo to draft a declaration – a bare minimum for any such conference – did not bear fruit. The main reason for the failure was diametrically opposite stance taken by USA and India. While, the latter pressed for the most contentious issue under the Doha Development Round [DDR] viz. finding a permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security, the former did not even allow it to be put on the table [earlier in November...

The union minister of commerce and industry, Suresh Prabhu has stated that “he won’t take up the issue of finding a permanent solution for public stock-holding programs for food security at the upcoming WTO ministerial in Buenos Aires next month”. This should be music to the ears of developed countries particularly USA, EU, Canada, Australia and Japan as this was a major item on the agenda of the Doha Development Round [DDR] – started in 2001- which they are hell bent on dumping. In fact, during a meeting at WTO, Geneva [July, 2017], they had rejected a proposal submitted by G-33 Group of developing countries [with India in the lead] on (i) public stock-holding for food security; (ii) special safeguard mechanism [SSM]...