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14081
Mon, 07/28/2008 - 10:48
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http://m.oananews.org//node/14081
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India looking to 100 developing nations for support on agri
Yoshita Singh Geneva, July 28 (PTI) Unhappy with the fresh proposal on agriculture at the WTO meeting here, India is looking up to over 100 developing countries for support to ensure that farmers remain protected after a global trade deal is signedfor liberalising the farm and other sectors.
"India is trying to get support of 100 developing countries, including Africa, LDCs and G-33-- agriculture alliance of the developing countries-- to change the Special Safeguard Mechanism (S.S.M.) provision," an Indian officialtold PTI.
Lamy has circulated a new proposal on agriculture and non-agriculture market access Saturday which was discussed by the all the ministers in the greenroom. The proposal suggests "SSM for above bound rate trigger is 140 percent of base imports." "This is not 'acceptable' to India because under this proposal by the time India activates the safeguard trigger, the 40 percent surge in imports would have wreaked havoc with the livelihood of millions of small and poor farmers." theofficial said.
India is looking to get the support and trying to work with them and get them on board to exert pressure to get thissafeguard mechanism changed, he said.
"It is the concern for those countries also and whatever remedial action we get to protect our farm sector from importsurges, they (Africa and LDCs) will also get," official added.
The US wants India to agree to the SSM instrument when imports surge on a sustained basis by 40 percent over the previous year, while India insisted that the mechanism can come into play if imports rise by about 10 percent over theprevious year.
Expressing serious concerns on the numbers in the new Special Safeguard Mechanism proposed by Lamy that has made it difficult to make its operation effective, India has earlier said that the bound rate trigger of 140 percent is simply notacceptable.
India now looking at G-33 countries, which consists of 42 developing nations, as Brazil, which is India's partner in the powerful G-20 alliance, found it difficult to support India onS.S.M. due to differences within the G-20 on S.S.M.
For a collective bargain, the developing countries which dominate the 152 WTO membership have aligned themselves into different groupings like G-20, G-33 and Non-Agriculture Market Access-11 (NAMA-11). PTI YAS
"India is trying to get support of 100 developing countries, including Africa, LDCs and G-33-- agriculture alliance of the developing countries-- to change the Special Safeguard Mechanism (S.S.M.) provision," an Indian officialtold PTI.
Lamy has circulated a new proposal on agriculture and non-agriculture market access Saturday which was discussed by the all the ministers in the greenroom. The proposal suggests "SSM for above bound rate trigger is 140 percent of base imports." "This is not 'acceptable' to India because under this proposal by the time India activates the safeguard trigger, the 40 percent surge in imports would have wreaked havoc with the livelihood of millions of small and poor farmers." theofficial said.
India is looking to get the support and trying to work with them and get them on board to exert pressure to get thissafeguard mechanism changed, he said.
"It is the concern for those countries also and whatever remedial action we get to protect our farm sector from importsurges, they (Africa and LDCs) will also get," official added.
The US wants India to agree to the SSM instrument when imports surge on a sustained basis by 40 percent over the previous year, while India insisted that the mechanism can come into play if imports rise by about 10 percent over theprevious year.
Expressing serious concerns on the numbers in the new Special Safeguard Mechanism proposed by Lamy that has made it difficult to make its operation effective, India has earlier said that the bound rate trigger of 140 percent is simply notacceptable.
India now looking at G-33 countries, which consists of 42 developing nations, as Brazil, which is India's partner in the powerful G-20 alliance, found it difficult to support India onS.S.M. due to differences within the G-20 on S.S.M.
For a collective bargain, the developing countries which dominate the 152 WTO membership have aligned themselves into different groupings like G-20, G-33 and Non-Agriculture Market Access-11 (NAMA-11). PTI YAS
