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CII opposes second WTO draft

The Confederation of Indian Industry which is sending a seven-member delegation to the fourth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation at Doha has expressed concern about the second draft proposed by the General Council chairman, Stuart Robinson, saying it gives no negotiating space on any issue.

R Seshasayee, chairman International Trade Committee of CII and managing director of Ashok Leyland will lead the team from November 9-13.

Two members of the CII team, Seshasayee and Tarun Das, director general of CII will be part of the official delegation of the Government of India.

The delegation will also hold meetings with counterparts from the EU, Japan and US among others.

The CII is of the view that the second draft of the WTO's Doha ministerial declaration, which includes new issues like environment, investment, and competition policy as an agenda for negotiation at the multilateral trade body, is not in the interest of the Indian industry.

Further, there is also a technical problem with the draft since there are no negotiating options available, the CII alleged.

The draft declaration circulated now restricts the choices related to investment and development for developing countries, it said.

What is important now is to address issues such as peak tariffs in the developed countries to reduce the inequalities that exist, the CII says.

There are several other implementation issues regarding textiles, anti-dumping and geographical indications which need to be addressed before adding more to the multilateral agenda.

The other members of the CII team will represent sectors such as steel, consumer goods, automobiles, auto components, services and engineering among others.

UNI

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