BRICS asks WTO to fight trade protectionism

FE Team | Published: December 16, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

GENEVA, Dec 15 (PTI): The eve of important WTO Ministerial meeting, India along with other BRICS members Wednesday underscored the key role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to keep protectionism at bay in the difficult economic environment. The trade ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) came out with a common position stating that the WTO must maintain its central role in multi-lateral trade disciplines. "We attach great importance to the role of the WTO in keeping protectionist forces at bay. Under the present global economic conditions, international trade plays an even more critical role in stimulating economic growth and development. "We are in full agreement that all forms of protectionism must be resisted," the declaration at the end of the BRICS trade ministers said. In his intervention, India's Commerce minister Anand Sharma said that BRICS would be both a rallying point and a bridge between developed and developing world. The WTO Ministerial Conference, the highest policy making of the 154- member body, would deliberate during the next two days how to revive the stalled talks for achieving a global trade agreement under the 10-year old Doha Round. Sharma exhorted the members of the BRICS countries to resist "moves to change the agenda and the discourse at the WTO". With accession of Russia to WTO, the BRICS would play an important pressure group along with G20 to get a fair deal for the developing countries. Sharma said the developmental issues of interest of the developing countries are not negotiable. Earlier in the day, SAARC trade ministers expressed deep regret at the present impasse in the Doha Round talks despite the full engagement of the developing countries. They reaffirmed their commitment to conclude the negotiations at the earliest. The Doha Round of talks, which began in 2001, have missed several deadlines due to differences on the demand by the developed countries on the level of market opening in the developing nations. There are also discords on protection for farmers in the rich world. The ministers stressed on increasing trade amongst the SAARC countries to mitigate the negative impact of the global financial and economic crisis and urged WTO Members to resist protectionism in all forms, a Ministerial communique said. The Ministers underscored the importance of providing duty free quota free market access to LDCs on all products of their export interest. They also asked developed countries to implement and notify their duty free quota free schemes on all products of export interest of LDCs, preferably by 2012. The ministers called for an early accession of two SAARC members - Afghanistan and Bhutan - to the WTO. The Ministers underscored the importance of flexibilities available to the developing countries under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, it said. Sharma also held bilateral meeting with trade ministers from Bangladesh and New Zealand. New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said that India was uniquely positioned to take the leadership in the developing world to break the logjam in the Doha Round. The EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht also called on Sharma to review the progress in the ongoing India-EU free trade agreement negotiations.