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Developed countries must remove their trade distorting agricultural subsidies completely and fully before seeking agri market access in developing countries like India, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, said while participating in a high-level international conference on "Liberalisation and the Future of Agricultural Policy" organised by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in Paris last evening. Signalling India’s approach in the detailed negotiations for modalities following the conclusion of the WTO Draft Framework Agreement of July in the current Doha Round, Shri Kamal Nath emphasised that for India agriculture would remain the core factor in determining how quickly progress was made in the modalities negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), while stressing that mercantilist compulsions of agriculture corporates should not drive the WTO negotiations.
Shri Kamal Nath participated in the debate with several other eminent persons at the conference whose objective was to highlight the possible future of the agricultural policy beyond the present multilateral or bilateral negotiations, taking into account both the positions of the major international partners, and empirical evidences concerning the strengths and weaknesses of their agricultural sectors. The other prominent speakers along with Shri Kamal Nath were Mr. Herve Gaymard, French Minister of Agriculture, Alimentation, Fisheries and Rural Affairs; Ms. Ann-Christin Nykvist, Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs, Sweden; Mr. Carlos Morgado, Minister for Economy and Commerce, Mozambique; Mr. Jean-Paul N’Goupande, Former Prime Minister of Central African Republic; Mr. John Bensted-Smith, Director in-charge of Economical Analysis and Evaluation, European Commission, Agricultural DG; Mr. Henri Nallet, Former French Minister of Agriculture; Mr. Terry Roe, Director, Centre for Political Economy, University of Minnesota; Dr. Tibor Szanyi, Political State Secretary, Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development and Mr. Guy Legras, Former General Manager of Agriculture in the European Commission.
In a hard hitting address before a distinguished international audience, Shri Kamal Nath said "Governments have more recently resolved at Geneva to uphold the legitimate food and livelihood security and rural development needs of developing countries in the agriculture negotiations. What we are confronting is a real life situation facing real persons desperate for recognition of the condition in which they live and the pressures on them from the subsidy-laden policies of other countries. Mercantilist compulsions of corporatised agriculture cannot drive these negotiations… We do not deny the developed world agricultural market access on a whim, or because we do not want to engage in trade. We have been forced to turn protectionist because we have no alternative; there is no level playing field. Agriculture sustains the daily lives of the majority of our people. Subsidised products flooding in from abroad would play havoc with the social fabric. Eliminate subsidies completely and fully, in all its guises, and we would not be hesitant to liberalise substantially. But we must be clear that this is not a chicken-and-egg situation. There is no doubt as to what needs to be done first – it is the removal of subsidies. It is logical that market access can only succeed this, not precede it."
Effective reduction in subsidies and non-tariff barriers in trade in agriculture by developed countries would increase world incomes and expand world trade far more than similar progress in any other area and there had to be a social consensus on this, Shri Kamal Nath said, adding that "it is no use making tariff reduction commitments on the one hand and erecting insurmountable non-tariff barriers on the other".
The Minister emphasised that international policy on agriculture should not ignore the ground realities obtaining in three-fourths of the world. "Developing countries need sufficient policy space and flexibilities in instruments to lift the large proportion of their populations employed in agriculture from their present level of backwardness. It is inconceivable for the developed countries to seek, and for the developing countries to offer, identity in treatments and commitments until all distortions in agriculture are removed", he added.
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