New Delhi: Union minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal will lead the Indian delegation at the 12th ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that begins in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday, after a gap of five years. Some of the important subjects for discussions and negotiations for the WTO 2022 conference for India include fisheries subsidies negotiations, agriculture issues including public stockholding for Food Security, WTO Reforms, and Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmission.


Agriculture


India will pitch for a permanent solution to its food security concerns. "India has a vital stake in protecting the interests of all stakeholders in the country as well as the interests of the developing and poor nations that look up to the leadership of India at multilateral forums including WTO," the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement.


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In May this year, the Director-General of the WTO brought three draft texts on agriculture, trade, and food security and exemption of the World Food Programme from export restrictions for negotiations. India has reservations about some of the provisions in the draft decisions and has been engaging in the process of discussions and negotiations in order to be able to preserve the rights under the Agreement on Agriculture without undermining the existing Ministerial mandates.


Among other important issues under negotiation at the WTO, the protection of India’s food grain procurement programme at Minimum Support Prices (MSP) will also be discussed. Such programmes involve purchases from farmers at administered prices and are key to supporting farmers and consumers in the country. WTO rules limit the subsidy that can be provided to such products being procured.


This issue is being negotiated at the WTO by the G-33, a coalition of developing countries of which India is a key member and the African Group which has come together along with the ACP group in submitting a proposal on a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes on 31 May 2022. India co-sponsored a G-33 proposal for a permanent solution on PSH for food security purposes at the WTO, on 15 September 2021, which had the co-sponsorship of 38 Members.


WTO fisheries negotiations


India is keen on finalising the fisheries agreement in the upcoming MC-12 because irrational subsidies and overfishing by many countries are hurting Indian fishermen and their livelihood. India strongly believes that it should not repeat the mistakes made during the Uruguay Round that allowed a few members unequal and trade-distorting entitlements in agriculture. It unfairly constrained less developed members who did not have the capacity and resources to support their industry and farmers.