WTO asks India for greater responsibility for Doha trade deal

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) The World Trade Organisation
(WTO) on Saturday said countries like India, China and Brazil,
which have emerged as key players in the multilateral
negotiations, need to show greater responsibility for reaching
a Doha trade deal.

"...with greater authority there should be greater
responsibility...," WTO Deputy Director General Harsha
Vardhana Singh said at a FICCI meet here.

He said Doha negotiations reflects changes in the
international political economy due to growing importance of
India, China and Brazil.

"...the negotiations have shown that today, the main
group of large negotiating in any multilateral negotiations
will always include these countries," he said.

However, he said it is imperative that a change in
mindset is brought that greater responsibility falls on the
shoulders of those who are given more authority.

Doha round talks had collapsed in July 2008 primarily on
concerns over level of protection available to farmers in the
developing countries in the multilateral global trade pact.

On the forthcoming ministerial meeting scheduled here in
September, Singh said it is a "laudable" effort by India
towards making the talks successful.

Singh said the successful conclusion of the Doha Round
has "a lot to offer" to the member countries.

"A successful conclusion of Doha Round will provide
greater opportunities, as well as some important lessons in
several key areas where we need to work together to get
sustainable solutions," he said.

Expressing hope that the Doha Round of talks would be
completed by 2010, the visiting WTO Deputy Director General
said the negotiations have been going on for a long enough
time and have progressed substantively to a major extent.

He said the results of Doha negotiations would contribute
substantively in terms of its own package of direct results as
well the indirect effects that would facilitate better
governance.

A study by Washington-based Peterson Institute for
International Economics has said that with the opening of the
global trade through the Doha agreement, the world economy may
get a booster dose of USD 300-700 billion a year. PTI NKD
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