PM's assurance on Seattle meeting
Tribune News Service and agencies

NEW DELHI, Nov 1 — The turbulence at Seattle ahead of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference was felt today in the Lok Sabha with non-Congress opposition parties staging a walkout demanding clarification from the Prime Minister on reports of informal agreement between India and the USA in some sectors.

In response to the Opposition demand, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, in his brief statement assured that India’s national interest would be fully protected and promoted at the Seattle negotiations.

Mr Vajpayee said that India’s basic position was that the country was not in favour of wide-ranging new round of negotiations, often called the millennium round.

He also said that India was opposed to relating trade with core labour standards, environmental issues, coherent global architecture, investment issues, NGOs' involvement in WTO negotiations and competition policy.

The Prime Minister also said that India was prepared for few new items being taken up for negotiations provided implementation issues arising from the Uruguay Round were also resolved to the country’s satisfaction.

Referring to the ongoing conference, the Prime Minister informed the House that though it was due to begin at 10 a.m. (local time), it could not due to demonstrations and disturbances, including tear gas shelling. "Even the US delegation could not arrive at the venue and the inaugural session was abandoned".

He said that most of the Ministers from different countries could not even attend the lunch hosted by the WTO Director-General and even the plenary session could start later than schedule.

The Prime Minister also tabled the statement of the Union Minister for Industries and Commerce, Mr Murasoli Maran.

The issue cropped up during zero hour, with Mr Jaipal Reddy of the Congress wanting to know from the government about the report in an English daily today that India and the USA had arrived at an understanding to allow permanent zero duty on E-Commerce and information technology.

However, despite the lead taken by Mr Reddy, it was the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal who stole the thunder with their members trooping to the well of the House and staging a sit-in. The Samajwadi Party President, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, said they wanted the Prime Minister to make a statement on it.

The Left party members also joined in, echoing a similar a demand, with the Congress also following suit. After repeated pleas from the Chair, the House was adjourned for lunch ahead of schedule. Even after re-assembly, several MPs were agitated when the Prime Minister was not present.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Pramod Mahajan, informed the House that the Prime Minister could not come since he was hosting a lunch for the visiting President of Vietnam and assured his presence later. At this, the Samajwadi Party staged a five minute boycott.

Earlier, the House was adjourned for about 20 minutes before the lunch break amid an uproar following demands by members for a statement by the Prime Minister about an alleged clandestine agreement with the USA before the start of the WTO meeting.

Repeated pleas by Mr Mahajan that the Prime Minister would be informed as soon as his meeting with the visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister ended, fell on deaf ears with many members saying that nothing could be more important than this.

Referring to agriculture, Mr Maran called upon the developed countries to eliminate the export subsidies and other trade distortive support. At the same time, future negotiations in agriculture must not in any way limit the flexibility of large rural agrarian economies to support and protect their domestic production as well as to achieve the objectives of food security and rural employment, he added.

He also made out a case for examining the constructive role that electronic commerce and information technology can play in our development process.

Mr Maran said the Indian economy was being opened up to foreign investment in transparent manner and "we are committed to progressive economic reforms and liberalisation in our own interest and according to our own judgement and pace."

He, however, made it clear that in India's view a multilateral framework on investment was neither necessary nor desirable.

Articulating India's concerns, the minister said the Uruguay round agreements had not served all the members well and there were critical gaps that needed to be urgently addressed.

He drew attention to what he called "imbalances and inequities" in several agreements, including those relating to anti-dumping subsidies intellectual property, TRIMS (trade related investment measures) and the non-realisation of expected benefits from agreements such as textiles and agriculture during implementation which had been a matter of great concern.

Mr Maran said the special differential treatment clauses had remained virtually inoperative. The textile sector has thus far witnessed a mere 4 per cent integration of the restrained items by the developed countries. Even in areas where developing countries began to acquire trade competitiveness, anti-dumping or subsidy investigations have been initiated in increasing numbers."

He said the TRIPS agreement placed the right of a patent holder on a higher pedestal than obligations. "However, it does not confer corresponding rights to countries or indigenous communities whose bio resources or traditional knowledge are put to use," he complained.

WTO agenda: India rejects US demand

SEATTLE, Dec 1 (UNI) — Sharply disagreeing with the US position, India has "resolutely" rejected the renewed attempts to introduce, in one form or the other, non-trade issues, particularly environment and labour standards, in the agenda of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

"Any further move will cause deep divisions and distrust that can only harm the formation of a consensus on our future work programme," Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran said, in his statement at the plenary session on the first day of the third ministerial conference of the WTO here yesterday.

He said, India, in good faith, had agreed at Marrakesh to the establishment of a WTO committee on trade and environment. However, India would strongly oppose any attempt to either change the committee’s structure or mandate which could be used for legitimising unilateral trade restrictive measures.

On the issue of labour, Mr Maran said India was fully committed to the observance of labour standards and cherished all the values of democracy and workers’ rights. However, it was decided at Singapore once and for all that labour related issues rightly belonged to the ILO, he recalled.

India called for a "positive, achievable and trade-related agenda for the ministerial meeting so as to steer the WTO in the direction of greater equity and balance, Mr Maran said adding that only such a trade-related and positive agenda could usher in greater prosperity for all.

"Only if our approach is development-centric, can our work programme act as a facilitator for accelerated growth of developing countries," he added.

The minister wanted the trade negotiations to concentrate on the core issues of market access ensuring smooth flow of trade based on the principle of equity.

Mr Maran said India was committed to a strengthened, rule-based, non-discriminatory multilateral trading system that should be fair and equitable. The central theme of any negotiations should be to focus on all-round development capable of eradicating poverty.

"Economic integration cannot advance if the interests of the poor and left behind", the minister said.

India not to support EU move on biotech

SEATTLE, Dec 1 (PTI) — India today said it would not support the move of the European Union (EU) to set up a group in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to go into the issue of biotechnology.

"We are not supporting the move for setting up a group on biotechnology," Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran told reporters here indicating that no clear picture has emerged so far at the WTO on this proposal.

Mr Maran, who had a bilateral meeting with EU Commissioner Pascal Lanmy earlier, said "we have decided to meet often and periodically to find commonality of approach on trade issues between India and the EU".

Asked what commonality approach could be evolved with the EU when there was serious differences on labour standards and environmental protection, Mr Maran said there were differences but there were areas of commonality as well on which we are trying to move forward.

He said G-15 trade ministers meeting was very useful and they had prepared a draft declaration which was reasonably concrete and emphasised the importance of addressing the implementation issues and stressed the need in keeping off labour standards and environmental protection from the WTO.

Mr Maran had earlier made a hard hitting statement with pointed reference to India’s opposition to labour standards and environment at the plenary on the opening day of the four-day WTO ministerial meeting.

India believes that trade negotiations should concentrate on core issues of market access ensuring smooth flow of trade based on the principle of equity, Mr Maran told the plenary.