WTO talks extended overtime, India hopeful of agreement on agricultural aid. india business news
Abu Dhabi: business negotiations Extra time taken due to last minute saving effort by ministers dealThe focus is primarily on achieving results on India’s long-standing demand for a resolution on public stockholding, and no further extension of the ban on e-commerce to sharing of movies and books electronically. has not been done.
Eight to 10 of the 30-odd paragraphs in the outcome document had been agreed upon by late evening. Ministers and officials are expected to spend the night finalizing the text and the meeting is now scheduled to close around noon on Friday instead of 8pm on Wednesday local time. “The issue has boiled down to agriculture and e-commerce,” an interlocutor told TOI.
Division over remittances, movement of health workers
There are deep differences on many issues, including areas of interest to India such as remittances and movement of health workers. An interlocutor told TOI that India has managed to keep China-backed investment facilitation agreements with more than 120 countries outside the ambit of the WTO agreement for now.
Given the deep gorge, fishing appears to be difficult. Like India, some Pacific countries are demanding a cut in subsidies by rich countries, which offer up to $75,000 annually to each fisherman, and are arguing that they will limit their subsidies only if advanced countries agree. There will be a commitment from our side to reduce subsidies. Help. Additionally, India wants to retain the right for its artisanal fishermen to venture into the exclusive economic zone extending up to 200 nautical miles.
However, the EU’s eagerness to get an extension of the e-commerce moratorium has opened up some possibilities for a transaction, despite countries like Brazil being against extending the exemption beyond March.
By evening, there appeared to be little sign of progress on agriculture, particularly on finding a solution to public stockholding – which allows countries like India to maintain a large stock of grain to feed their large populations. On Thursday, Brazil took an aggressive stance, demanding a reduction in domestic support, a defensive issue for the EU, and threatening to block an extension of the moratorium. India says there should be no talks on domestic support or tariffs until the issue of food stocks is resolved. Negotiators indicated that a work program on reducing tariffs and cutting subsidies was expected amid discussions on revising the reference price from 1986–88 for calculating food subsidies.
Eight to 10 of the 30-odd paragraphs in the outcome document had been agreed upon by late evening. Ministers and officials are expected to spend the night finalizing the text and the meeting is now scheduled to close around noon on Friday instead of 8pm on Wednesday local time. “The issue has boiled down to agriculture and e-commerce,” an interlocutor told TOI.
Division over remittances, movement of health workers
There are deep differences on many issues, including areas of interest to India such as remittances and movement of health workers. An interlocutor told TOI that India has managed to keep China-backed investment facilitation agreements with more than 120 countries outside the ambit of the WTO agreement for now.
Given the deep gorge, fishing appears to be difficult. Like India, some Pacific countries are demanding a cut in subsidies by rich countries, which offer up to $75,000 annually to each fisherman, and are arguing that they will limit their subsidies only if advanced countries agree. There will be a commitment from our side to reduce subsidies. Help. Additionally, India wants to retain the right for its artisanal fishermen to venture into the exclusive economic zone extending up to 200 nautical miles.
However, the EU’s eagerness to get an extension of the e-commerce moratorium has opened up some possibilities for a transaction, despite countries like Brazil being against extending the exemption beyond March.
By evening, there appeared to be little sign of progress on agriculture, particularly on finding a solution to public stockholding – which allows countries like India to maintain a large stock of grain to feed their large populations. On Thursday, Brazil took an aggressive stance, demanding a reduction in domestic support, a defensive issue for the EU, and threatening to block an extension of the moratorium. India says there should be no talks on domestic support or tariffs until the issue of food stocks is resolved. Negotiators indicated that a work program on reducing tariffs and cutting subsidies was expected amid discussions on revising the reference price from 1986–88 for calculating food subsidies.
