By Yamini Agarwal
Having taken its sources from the larger Doha Development Agenda, the Bali package precisely decides upon the four issues out of the 21 subjects dealt in Doha Development Round. The package, being the first to be approved by all the members of the World trade Organisation, caters to strengthen the trade relation for developing countries with the developed nations by lowering the import quotas and agricultural subsidies.The benefits to the world economy are calculated to be between $ 400 billion and $1 trillion by reducing costs of trade by between 10% and 15%, increasing trade flows and revenue collection, creating a stable business environment and attracting foreign investment. So the much talked about decision comes under four main headings:
1. Trade facilitation which is cutting red tape and streamlining customs and port procedures.
2. Agriculture-
- General services: a proposed list of general services of particular interest to developing countries that would be added to the Green Box the category of domestic support that is considered not to distort trade (or to distort minimally) and therefore allowed without any limits.
- Developing countries public stockholding of food for food security.
- Tariff quota administration: a proposal to deal with the way a specific type of import quota (tariff quotas) is to be handled when the quota is persistently under-filled.
- Export competition, the collective term for export subsidies and other policies with similar effects.
3. Cotton
The draft on cotton deals both with improving market access for cotton products from least developed countries, and with development assistance for production in those countries.
4. Development
This covers:
- Duty-free, quota-free access for least developed countries to export to richer countries markets.
- Simplified preferential rules of origin for least developed countries, making it easier for these countries to identify products as their own products and qualify for preferential treatment in importing countries.
- A services waiver, allowing least developed countries preferential access to richer countries services markets
- A monitoring mechanism, consisting of meetings and other methods for monitoring special treatment given to developing countries.
In the wake of all these decisions, the position of India and its gains and losses from these are still to be judged. While it is expected that Agreement on Trade Facilitation could boost Indias exports and is also believed that the agreement will make it difficult for some countries which tend to slap non-tariff barriers against exports from the developing countries, some NGOs have a different stand to make. They assert that WTO could be the biggest danger to food security in India. One such is Gene Campaign which is dedicated to protecting genetic resources, farmers’ rights and food and livelihood security. They believe that India’s entire public stock holding programme is now under the international scrutiny. It is extremely damaging. The group also believes that the agreement on trade facilitation would not be of much help to India rather it would be of benefit to developed countries like US as the imports of agriculture products in our nation will increase harming the Indian farmers.
Therefore, the overall analysis is this: for public consumption, the country has gained by getting rid of the threat of the old Peace Clause through the interim mechanism that will work till a permanent solution. But on all other aspects, India has given in to pressure. For the implementation of the interim solution, there are more conditions than before.
The author is a student of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics,Pune pursuing her post graduation degree in Economics.She has completed her undergraduate degree in Economics from University of Delhi.She has written for www.myfinancetimes.com as a Guest Editor before this endeavour. Email id-yamini2093@gmail.com