Doha round of WTO talks stuck, solution not before 2013: Khullar
24 Sep 2011
India is worried the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) credibility may be eroding as it has not been able to deliver anything in the past two years to push the Doha round of trade talks aimed at carrying the development agenda for global trade.
The standoff stems from the US resistance to yield negotiating space to other countries, due to the political compulsions of the Barack Obama government, which is facing elections next year.
Indian negotiators at the WTO are trying hard to cobble up a trade concessions package for the least developed countries as "a minimalist" goal that could be pushed through at the crucial eighth ministerial conference (MC-8), to be held in December this year.
Khullar, admitted that the WTO talks were stuck and no breakthrough in the negotiations could be expected till the US presidential elections scheduled to take place in 2012.
He said the earliest a solution could be found would be 2013.
Even if a minimum of trade concessions in the form of tariff-free and quota-free market access was given for some of the products of the least developed countries (LDCs), it would be some achievement in the negotiations of the current round of WTO talks.
This would help to keep the WTO's credibility intact before the long wait for the US election process was completed and discussions on other issues could be resumed in right earnest again.
