The World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Director General, Roberto Azevedo, on Friday, said that the Bali Package would enhance the abilities of the developing countries’ to integrate into the world economy.
Speaking at the Partnership Summit here on Friday, Mr. Azevedo — his first public address since the WTO turned 20 this year — used the occasion to highlight India’s contribution in breaking the impasse.
“The first decision, and clearly the most important for India, was a clarification on the Bali decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes — to unequivocally state that the peace agreement would remain in force until a permanent solution is found,” he said.
The second decision was to formally add the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility to the WTO rulebook, clearing the path for the Trade Facilitation Agreement agreed upon in Bali and its implementation.
WTO Members are now working to ratify the agreement according to their domestic procedures.
The WTO DG noted that the benefits of the TFA would be visible to Indian industry as competitiveness and exports will receive a boost once members ratify the agreement.
The TFA would bring down trade costs by 15 per cent, and bolster south-south trade. He said that the remaining issues under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) would need to be refocused before the Ministerial Conference in Nigeria at the end of the year.
“As Director General, I have made development a priority,” he said, as the development dimension was crucial in balancing the global trading system.
Mr. Azevedo stated that WTO provided developing and least-developed countries a seat in the rule-making table as they were not included in the current regional and mega-regional trade agreements.
Over the past two decades, the WTO has contributed towards the stability and predictability of the world trading system. Since 1995, the WTO has welcomed 33 new members, including large economies such as China and Russia, and its 160 members represent 98 per cent of world trade. It has addressed some 500 trade disputes between members while keeping protectionist measures at bay.
Mr. Azevedo said . “In particular, the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ initiative — inviting the world to produce, invest and do business in India — is very significant in the context of the work we do in the WTO,” he said
The three-day summit has been organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in co-operation with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Rajasthan government.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Commerce and Industry (Independent charge) Nirmala Sitharaman said the WTO should continue to work towards stemming protectionism, while being more responsive to the needs of developing and least-developed countries.
Expressing concern that some countries had started to equate only free trade with development, she said development should include jobs and overall development of people and communities.
Development was at the centre of the Doha Development Agenda, and many issues of importance for developing countries such as subsidies and non-tariff barriers that were not part of free trade agreements could be addressed through the WTO, she said. “Trade negotiations need to refocus on multilateral agreements which recognise the legitimate concerns of the developing countries,” she added.
