Despite opposition, non-trade issues make their way into WTO draft package

The draft – which will form the basis on which 164 WTO members will negotiate an outcome at the 13th ministerial conference – has presented two options on public stockholding, a key issue of concern to New Delhi. The first option is a work programme to make recommendations for a permanent solution and the second is setting parameters for continuous discussion to reach a permanent solution at the next ministerial meeting.

“The new issues or deliberative functions that the EU (European Union) and other developed countries have proposed, have made their way into the draft package,” an official said. Biswajit Dhar, professor at Council for Social Development, said developing countries need to have a proactive agenda at the conference as their “policy space would be under pressure”.

The draft “has set the tone for the ministerial and plurilateral talks would carry on,” he said. Experts said there will be efforts to extract concessions from developing countries in lieu of a permanent solution. These concessions could be around transparency and notification requirements, which will add to costs and bring developing countries’ policies under scanner. As per the package, some of the areas where convergence has not yet been achieved are trade and industrial policy, policy space for industrial development, sustainable agriculture, environment, and trade and debt.