Sunday, March 31, 2002		Books

World Trade Organisation: An Indian Perspective
by Jayanta Bagchi, Eastern Law House, Kolkata, 2001, pp. 243, Rs 400.

THE most controversial subject today among the developing countries especially India is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its implications. Right from swadeshi (saffron) to red, political parties of different hues are critical of this multilateral trade organisation and its programme of implementation of the results of Uruguay Round negotiations. They have lost sight of the fact that there are now 143 member countries that have received the most favoured nation (MFN) status after having become the member of the WTO and that the multilateral agreement has been signed by all these countries including India.

Imagine, China has been trying to become member of the WTO since 1986, after having withdrawn from GATT in 1955. This is also a known fact that the present ruling party had no hand in formulation of the mandate of the Uruguay Round or the acceptance of its results. However, it was expected that the theme of the liberalisation of the economy would be consistent with its line of thinking. Although India has been trying to implement most of the articles of the WTO sincerely, yet it is disconcerting that, a wing of the dominant party has been demanding vociferously for the withdrawal of India from WTO.

It was V. P. Singh as Commerce Minister during Rajiv Gandhi’s government who attended the GATT meeting at Punta del Este in Uruguay when the Eighth Round, culminating into WTO was adopted. Again, it was Pranab Mukherjee, as Commerce Minister during PV Narasimha Rao’s government, who signed the Final Act on 1 April, 1994, on behalf of India at Marrakech in Mexico.

Parties like the CPI (M), wedded to the ideology of state control and management of economy, can never accept the unfettered working of the market forces, even though their patron, China, had been fighting for entry into the multilateral trade treaty for the last 15 years despite many hurdles. This only shows that either the parties are criticising WTO for the sake of criticism, being in opposition, or they are unaware of the WTO clauses and international trade policy.

The book begins with the historical background of the WTO and proceeds to describe its structural format including its subordinate bodies, their scope and functions. It systematically analysis the agreements on agriculture, textiles and clothing, trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS), trade related investment measures (TRIMS), and services. In addition, the agreements on safeguards, anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing duties are dealt with considerable details. The agreements on anti-dumping and countervailing measures as applied in EU and the US have been described in greater details so that the Indian exporters and importers can also take a cue from these agreements to protect their own interests. The author has stressed on the dispute settlement mechanism because the developing and the developing countries have filed more than 40 cases against each other though more are from the developed countries. The portion of the book deals with technical and legal matters of the dispute settlement body (DSB) and Bagchi has made the presentation in a non-technical manner so that every reader is in a position to understand the implications. The simplicity of language and jargon free text makes the reader understand and comprehend WTO better.

Besides discussing major agreements of the Uruguay Round, the author has also examined the position of the developing countries in implementing these agreements. He has also described the changes that will benefit the developing countries. There is a separate chapter on the implications of Uruguay Round for India. It contains a dispassionate and objective examination of all the controversial agreements like agriculture, social clause, and TRIPS. The author has also dealt with the trade issues, labour standards, and the linkages between trade and competition policy, investment and the environment in detail.

The book will be useful for all the scholars, farmers, agriculture scientists, industrialists, MPs, and people who are interested to know more about WTO. It will also be useful for the next Development Round that is being held in January 2003, as decided during the Doha meet in November last.