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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Sept21/19) Washington DC, 17 Sep (D. Ravi Kanth) – Despite the WTO director-general’s call on settling for any outcome on the controversial agriculture package, India on 16 September said that it will not settle for any outcome in agriculture without an agreement on the mandated permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security, said people who took part in a virtual G33 ministerial meeting. At the virtual G33 ministerial meeting chaired by Indonesia, India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal said categorically that New Delhi will not accept an outcome on agriculture without a ministerial decision on the mandated permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security (PSH), said people, who asked not to be identified. India also said that along with the outcome on the permanent solution for PSH, there have to be outcomes on the special safeguard mechanism (SSM), and on cotton for the C-4 countries in the context of steeply reducing trade-distorting domestic subsidies. Indonesia, Tanzania and Nigeria among others also called for the permanent solution on PSH and SSM. Only Guatemala supported the Doha agriculture chair’s controversial draft text. G33 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT The G33 ministerial statement states that the group’s members “are deeply concerned about the lack of progress to reach convergence in the negotiations.” It argues that “in spite of the challenging circumstances, we welcome Members’ willingness to commit to engaging constructively to achieve positive results at MC12.” The G33 expressed “grave concern over the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on food and livelihood security in developing countries and LDCs” and called for addressing the pending issues of importance to the G33. More than 40 trade ministers from the G33 group said “it is politically important to preserve the solidarity amongst G-33 Members and inject progress into the negotiations on agriculture based on pragmatic options.” The G33 ministers reaffirmed their “commitment in moving forward the agriculture negotiations on all mandated issues and the expeditious resolution of permanent solution on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes (PSH) as one of the critical food security instruments, and of Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) as an important instrument that would buffer developing countries against sudden price declines or against major import surges.” The G33 ministers said that “all future work programmes must satisfactorily address the development issues of developing countries and LDCs with Special and Differential Treatment as an integral part of international trade negotiations.” They also acknowledged “the importance of the ongoing discussions on transparency and notifications and look forward to a balanced outcome that considers the needs of developing and least developed country Members.” The G33 emphasized “the need to promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory, equitable and WTO centered multilateral trading system that is vital for global agricultural trade.” The G33 members include; Antigua and Barbuda; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Bolivia; Botswana; China; Cote d’Ivoire; Congo; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Grenada; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; India; Indonesia; Jamaica; Kenya; Republic of Korea; Madagascar; Mauritius; Mongolia; Mozambique; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Pakistan; Philippines; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Senegal; Sri Lanka; Suriname; The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu; Tanzania; Trinidad and Tobago; Turkey; Uganda; Venezuela; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.
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