The new text on industrial goods in global trade talks will have to be completely revised and significant convergence has to be achieved before ministers can discuss it, Kamal Nath said.
Lot of work needed to narrow differences, says Kamal Nath
NEW DELHI: The new text on industrial goods in global trade talks will have to be completely revised and significant convergence has to be achieved before ministers can discuss it, Union commerce minister Kamal Nath said on Thursday. A statement issued by his office in New Delhi quoted Nath as saying that India was ready for a ministerial meeting but a lot of work needed to be done to narrow differences and converge before “identifying a safe landing zone”.
“Nath noted the sharp increase in the number of square brackets in (this) text. He said this text would have to be completely revised and significant convergence achieved before taking the matter for deliberation at the ministerial level,” the statement said. Mediators on farming and industrial goods in the global trade talks released revised negotiating texts on Monday which will prepare the way for a meeting of ministers to clinch an outline deal in the long-running Doha trade round.
Meanwhile speaking to reporters in Auckland, Australia, Nath said asked the developed countries to reduce trade distorting subsidies in agriculture so that farmers in the developing nations get motivated to grow more grain and end the global food crisis.
“Developing countries have no alternative but to produce more food in the coming years,” he said.
But the farmers need to be assured that they would get right prices for their produce in a market which is not distorted by subsidies.
“Subsidies in agriculture have to be reduced much faster than proposed currently so as to send the right signals to developing country farmers,” Nath said, reacting on the new negotiating texts on agriculture.
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