Hours after the deadline of July 31 passed after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) failed to agree on global customs rules due to Indian opposition, senior officials said here on Friday that India will push for a permanent peace clause for subsidy on agriculture till a final solution on the issue is found.
India has been demanding simultaneous solutions to two issues – the Trade Facilitation Protocol or a standardisation of customs rules and concessions on stockpiling of agriculture products to feed its poor. In the absence of any agreement on the second issue, India has not consented on a trade facilitation pact at WTO where all issues are decided by consensus.
Responding to criticism from the West about India being a deal-breaker, officials said India will buckle down for negotiations as soon as the one-month recess ended in September with a couple of proposals in order to find a solution by December 31.
They also referred to the timeline of WTO negotiations such as the four-year standoff from 2005 to make the point that a six month deferral on the trade facilitation-food subsidy stalemate `won’t bring the heavens down.’’
In this respect, officials also drew attention to WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo’s observations after talk broke down at midnight to corroborate their stand. ``We have not been able to find a solution that would allow us to bridge the gap,’’ he simply told WTO Ambassadors while asking them to ``reflect long and hard on the ramifications of this setback.’’
