WTO talks in Nairobi concludes with breakthrough on farm subsidies; India says 'disappointed' on Doha issues

Nairobi: India on Saturday expressed its "thorough" disappointment over non-reaffirmation to conclude 14-year-old Doha Round pacts, even as the five-day WTO meeting here managed to win a commitment to allow developing nations to use special safeguards to protect farmers against import surges.

After hectic negotiations for five consecutive days here -- exceeding the scheduled closing by almost 24 hours -- the WTO Trade Ministers concluded their talks this evening without any commitment on rich countries being asked to check their domestic subsidies.

Besides, rich nations refused to budge on their long-standing position of putting the onus on developing countries with regard to duties.

India's trade minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India put across its position very clearly on the table and strongly "protested" against the failure to reach an unanimity on "reaffirmation" to conclude over 14-year-old Doha round to safeguard developing nations' interest.

She also said that India has ensured that the decision on public stockholding has been reaffirmed in no uncertain terms.

"The decisions taken here will form the part from where work will begin on it to give a permanent solution," Sitharaman told PTI.

"We have done our best that we can in such a situation. Most of the commitments given by the WTO to us are carried forward with complete assurance and we have not lost any ground," she said when asked whether she is satisfied with the WTO's declaration.

The disappointment of India is understandable as developed nations such as the US want to move away from the Doha issues.

However, Sitharaman faced severe criticism on social media in some quarters who said if India had so much of objection, why it agreed on the draft declaration.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman said, "In the midst of feverish work this week on the Nairobi package, members engaged in honest and focused conversations on the limitations of the Doha Development Agenda framework. While opinions remain divided among the WTO Membership, it is clear that the road to a new era for the WTO began in Nairobi.

"As WTO members start work next year, they will be free to consider new approaches to pressing unresolved issues and begin evaluating new issues for the organisation to consider," he said.

The members of the global trade body agreed on a commitment for giving the developing nations a right to take recourse to Special Safeguard Mechanism to protect their farmers -- a long-standing demand of India.

Lobbying by India and other developing countries also led to reaffirmation to decisions taken earlier at WTO (World Trade Organisation) on the issue of public stockholding.

"We ensured that the Bali and the General Council's November 2014 decision on public stockholding which gives protection to my farmers has been reaffirmed in no uncertain terms.

"The decisions taken here will form the part from where work will begin on it to give a permanent solution," Trade and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told PTI.

According to the draft decision on cotton, the members decided to phase out export subsidies for developed nations immediately, while it has been marked for developing countries not later January 1, 2017.

Expressing her reservations against the decision on cotton, Sitharaman said, "I very clearly had mentioned under cotton that for the developing countries, we shall not accept the date. That date of 2017 has gone through, which is completely unacceptable to me ... so I would still appeal to delete the date given here."

Sitharaman also said that "India is disappointed that notwithstanding a large group - India, China, G33, African Union -- all of us insisting that Doha has to be reaffirmed, the reaffirmation has been divided. We are thoroughly disappointed on this core".

Further, the draft declaration also provides a Ministerial affirmation that till such time a permanent solution on public stockholding is found, the peace clause shall continue to be in place. The draft Declaration also reflects India's demand for a Ministerial Decision to develop a special safeguard mechanism for agricultural products that will be available for developing countries.

The five-page declaration at the Nairobi meeting, which also marked the 20th anniversary since the establishment of the WTO, underlined the crucial importance of the multilateral rules-based trading system and reaffirmed the principles and objectives set out in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.

The Ministers also reaffirmed "the pre-eminence of the WTO as the global forum for trade rules setting and governance".

"We note with concern the slow and uneven recovery from the severe economic and financial crisis of 2008, resulting in lower global economic growth, depressed agricultural and other commodity prices, raising inequalities, unemployment and significantly slower expansion of international trade in recent years.

"We acknowledge that international trade can play a role towards achieving sustainable, robust and balanced growth for all. We pledge to strengthen the multilateral trading system so that it provides a strong impetus to inclusive prosperity and welfare for all Members and responds to the specific development needs of developing country Members, in particular the least-developed country Members."

Acknowledging that the majority of WTO Members are developing countries, the declaration said, "We seek to place their needs and interests at the centre of the work in the WTO."

It also reiterated that the WTO will remain the main forum to negotiate multilateral trade rules. "We have done our best that we can in such a situation. Most of the commitments given by the WTO to us are carried forward with complete assurance and we have not lost any ground," Sitharaman said.