WTO: US, China, Brazil stance could lead to summit collapse

Abu Dhabi: The WTO talks have been going on for five days now. And till the time of  writing this report, there has been no sign of a concrete outcome. Developed countries are adamant on their position on matters like agriculture, e-commerce, and fishing. This has forced India to take a tough stance.

Sources say that India has made all possible efforts to reach a consensus, but cannot compromise on any of her interests. The talks have hit deadlock on the matter of agriculture. One official said that it is not India’s sole responsibility to make the WTO meet a success.

India has been at the centre of the talks, with the WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the host country UAE president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, trying to clinch a deal from India’s standpoint. The closing session of the talks has been postponed to 8 pm local time i.e. 9:30 pm IST.

Efforts to reach a consensus have also weakened. The US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has already returned home. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the host UAE are trying to get everyone to agree on a statement, but trade diplomats are pessimistic. Several officials said that talks on key issues remain deadlocked, just like it was on the first day of the meeting.

However, the WTO meet has been a balancing act for India, both politically and in terms of trade diplomacy. On the trade front, India has thwarted China from pushing the investment issue on the agenda. India’s opposition to a comment by the Thai ambassador has led to the ambassador being withdrawn. India has also tasted success in getting the interests of small fishermen included on the agenda.

On the political front, India is seen as leaving the meet with a message of not compromising on the interests of farmers.

Indian sources have indicated that India had got an exemption from the Bali meet on the issue of food security and agricultural subsidies. If other countries want to amend it, they will have to provide a permanent solution, otherwise India will continue to get the exemption on agricultural crop procurement that it got in Bali.

Sources say that there are ongoing discussions on keeping e-commerce free of customs duties. India will not agree to this without any concrete assurance.

Insiders from the meeting say Brazil has expressed its displeasure on consensus on agriculture and food stocks, while the European Union countries are adamant on continuing with the e-commerce exemption. The US has taken a tough stance on remittances coming to India from abroad, while China has blocked the proposal to reduce subsidies on fishing.