India says no June deadline for reaching trade accord

NEW DELHI: Developing countries have not given any commitment to reach an agreement with developed nations on farm subsidies and tariffs in global trade talks by the end of June, India’s trade minister said yesterday.

“There is no commitment by India for this deadline. We have said we will make efforts depending on what is available on the table. If the contents are acceptable, then why wait till June?” Indian Trade Minister Kamal Nath told a news conference.

"But if the contents are not acceptable to India and to developing countries, then June 30 is no timeline or deadline.”

US President George W Bush has “fast-track” power to negotiate a trade deal only until June 30 but the talks have been mired in disagreement, mostly over farm subsidies and tariffs, and were even suspended for six months last year.

Talks resumed this year and top trade representatives from the US, the European Union, India and Brazil met in London and Geneva earlier this month to continue discussions.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged developed nations to adopt a more flexible approach to make a success of the Doha Round of trade talks.

“In order to break the impasse, developed countries must make meaningful offers to reduce huge trade-distorting subsidies to their agriculture sector,” Singh told a conference organised by The Economist in New Delhi.

Launched in late 2001, the so-called Doha round of the World Trade Organisation negotiations has been billed as an opportunity to lift millions out of poverty and boost the global economy through trade.

The European Union is being pressed to make deeper reductions in its tariffs on farm products while the US is under pressure to agree to steeper cuts in its farm subsidies.

Nath said Washington must start giving some hard numbers to push the negotiations forward.

“There is good atmospherics without numbers. Good atmosphere is good for flying but not landing,” he said.

India, along with Brazil, has been a lead negotiator for developing nations, who say they are prepared to lower farm product tariffs by two-thirds the percentage cuts of developed nations.

Developing nations are being pushed to open their markets wider to industrial goods and services but the US also wants to see fewer farm products on their protected list.

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