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Food Security not to be comprised at WTO Agriculture and Food

13 Jun 2014| Posted by Morris | In Agriculture and Food

The first major international confrontation for the newly formed Modi government is fermenting at the WTO talks in Geneva; the US has not permitted progress on talks to assure fixed protection to India’s food subsidies from WTO caps, even after six months of the Bali ministerial conference. Narendra Modi, PM, must delve support measures from BRICS, mainly China, in the forthcoming visit to Brazil in July. Presently India leads the G-33 group of 46 developing countries that is looking around for amelioration to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture to permit procurement of food grains from minimal and subsidence farmers. WTO restrained subsidies should exclude grains to fight hunger.

At the demand of some countries, work is advancing for a WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation to get into action by the July 31 deadline the Bali Ministerial had set, but on the other two conditions, primarily fixed solution for food security and subject projected by the Least Development Countries, secondly work is not proceeding in the right way as expected by India, says the Commerce Secretary on Wednesday. Under the WTO’s current agreement, India’s governed minimum support costs for food grain procurement run the risk of breaching the allowed subsidy levels. This situation is immediate after the rollout of UPA government’s Food Security Act.    

India is termed to grant 10 per cent share of the total cost of agricultural production as non-product specific support, whereas 10 per cent of the total cost of production of a basic agricultural product as a product specific cost support. The other WTO nations can project legal action against, the subsidies and assistance costs exceeding the given levels as it may be referred as trade distortion. 

It would be a major test for the new government’s negotiating expertise as the commerce minister will address Brazil in order to set the basic formation ahead of the Prime Minister. 

India’s new jollity with China will also be eyed to spot the future possible changes.

 

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