WTO agri talks: India asks international locations to revisit its proposal on everlasting answer for public stockholding

India is attempting to restart work on the WTO on the long-pending everlasting answer for public stockholding subsidies, for easy operating of programmes such because the MSP, after the latest Ministerial Convention in Abu Dhabi did not ship outcomes, however some international locations, together with Brazil and the US, are attempting to defer the matter, sources have mentioned.

In a Committee on Agriculture (CoA) assembly on Tuesday on the WTO headquarters in Geneva, New Delhi insisted that members ought to revisit the joint proposal made by G33-African Group-ACP Group on public stockholding, which elaborates on what an appropriate everlasting answer might be, and mentioned that negotiations on the matter ought to conclude first with out it being linked to negotiations on home help, a Geneva-based official mentioned.

“India mentioned it was deeply disillusioned by the truth that a everlasting answer on public stockholding couldn’t be agreed to at MC13 and mentioned members ought to urgently honour the mandate on the matter pending because the 2013 Bali Ministerial Choice,” the official mentioned.

The Bali interim answer on public stockholding presents India and different creating nations a peace clause which permits them to breach the WTO prescribed agriculture subsidy restrict (10 per cent of worth of manufacturing) with out the chance of authorized motion from different members.

Final month, India invoked the peace clause for the fifth time for breaching the subsidy restrict on rice in 2022-23. 

Everlasting answer

India and a number of other different creating international locations are nonetheless insisting on a everlasting answer because the peace clause is ridden with troublesome situations and onerous notification necessities, leaving them open to questions and even disputes. 

New Delhi identified on the assembly that meals safety was nationwide safety and since solely 17 per cent of meals manufacturing on this planet was really traded, commerce alone couldn’t guarantee meals safety of creating nations. 

“India emphasised that its personal expertise of feeding a big inhabitants and defending livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of poor farmers testified to the success of the general public stockholding programmes,” the supply mentioned.

Brazil’s proposal

Brazil, which got here up with a proposal suggesting a timeline and evaluation course of that will function checkpoints to evaluate the progress of the agriculture negotiations main as much as the subsequent Ministerial, deferred the everlasting answer till MC14 in 2026.

“Brazil’s dealing with of the general public stockholding matter in its agriculture proposal led to protests from a number of members which give precedence to a everlasting answer. This included members of the African Group, G33 creating members (together with China and India), and international locations from the African, Pacific and Caribbean areas (ACP),” the official mentioned.

The EU was open to Brazil’s suggestion on a timeline, however mentioned that precedence ought to be given to some points, significantly the trade-distorting home help and the long-overdue matter of public stockholding.

The US expressed warning on the best way ahead and mentioned that to interrupt the stalemate, all members should interact and be prepared to compromise, the official mentioned. New Delhi, nevertheless, held on to its place {that a} everlasting answer on public stockholding ought to be arrived at first earlier than negotiations on the opposite agriculture pillars, together with home help and market entry.