IN JULY 2008, when the Doha talks to liberalize trade among member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) broke down, the US blamed India. This year, when India tried to revive the talks at a two-day informal meet of ministersfrom 30 countries in Delhi, the US did not seem keen to clinch the agreement.The two-day mini-Doha meeting washeld on September 3-4.
At the end of the meeting Indiancommerce minister Anand Sharma saidall member countries have agreed toresume talks and the agreement wouldbe finalized in 2010. But US trade representativeRon Kirk disagreed. "We needmore market access and jobs. The specialsafeguard mechanisms (SSMs) andspecial products (SPs) need to bereviewed," he said. SSPs allow developingcountries to slap additional duties onimports to protect their domestic market.Special products are goods onwhich developing countries can imposemaximum allowed duty.
Commenting on the US stand,agriculture scientist Bhaskar Goswamiof advocacy group Forum for Bio -technology and Food Security said thepriority of the developed countries istackling recession. They are not interes -ted in brokering a deal now, he added.
While delegate ministers and officialsnegotiated the agreement, over50,000 farmers held a protest demonstrationat Jantar Mantar nearParliament House. They were demandingthat agricultural trade be droppedfrom the Doha talks, on since 2001.Farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait,who led the rally, said, "If the governmentgoes ahead and signs the agriculturedeal, there will be civil war. Whatelse will 650 million farmers do if theydo not have food to eat?" A confederationof farmers' organizations, theIndian Coordination Committee ofFarmers Movement (ICCFM), issued astatement saying India should walk outof the WTO if it cannot make the US andthe EU reduce their farm subsidies.
"Heavy farm subsidies in developedcountries make their products cheaperresulting in depression in the internationalagriculture market," said YudhvirSingh of ICCFM. Afsar Jafri of nonprofitFocus on Global South saidthe current negotiations are based on adraft text prepared by the chair of agricultureof WTO in December 2008 whichhas watered down safeguard mechanisms."The actual number of specialproducts would be just 35 to 40," saidJafri. "Given our large agricultural base,India needs to have a large number ofSPs to protect farmers," said ShefaliSharma of non-profit Third WorldNetwork. She said the SSMs would notprotect farmers either as it involveslengthy procedure.