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July 11, 2006 17:10 IST
The commerce ministry has moved a Cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultations to finalise India's offers on services for the World Trade Organisation.
A decision on India's offer on services liberalisation must be taken soon so that the country can submit its proposal to WTO by July 31 deadline, official sources said.
However, the government is expecting the WTO deadline for submitting offers and requests on services negotiations to be extended by a couple of months as the more contentious issues of agriculture and industrial tariffs are yet to be resolved, sources said.
Trade ministers had failed to move further on farm and industrial tariffs during a meeting in Geneva earlier this month. At least four departments and ministeries have submitted their views on the note, which would be taken to the Cabinet for approval next week, they said.
In many sectors like telecom, the Cabinet note has pegged the Foreign Direct Investment limit below the actual existing level. This has been done to give India sufficient negotiation space in the trade talks.
The note has also suggested more concessions on financial services. Opening up these sectors like banking and insurance has been a key demand of the US and European countries.
On services, India has sought greater flexibility from developed countries such as the US in Mode 1 and Mode 4. While Mode 1 relates to cross-border supply of services such as outsourcing, Mode 4 pertains to movement of professionals.
Rich nations, on the other hand, have asked India to liberalise financial, legal, accounting and retail sectors and ease norms for setting up commercial presence in these areas. Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Investments Discussion Group
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