Even as the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) World Trade Organization (WTO) has concluded, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday India 100% satisfied with the outcome of the conference and “there is no issue that requires us to return to India with any kind of concern”. The 164 member states of the World Trade Organization have finally signed a package of trade agreements on issues including global intellectual property rights (IPR) exemptions for global intellectual property rights (IPR) and fishing subsidies to protect marine resources.
This is the biggest deal in nine years since the 2013 Bali summit in which a trade facilitation agreement was sealed. The 164-member WTO ministerial conference, which takes place once in two years to legislate on global trade, concluded in Geneva, Switzerland. The four-day mega meeting began on June 12 but was later extended for two days due to major differences among the members.
“India has emerged as a credible and strong voice for developing and least developed countries with phenomenal results in MC12. We as a global leader have clearly proved our ability to build consensus for the broader good,” Piyush Goyal said in a tweet on Friday. Here are some highlights from the WTO discussions and India’s success:
fishing area
At the Bali Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in 2013, member states sealed a trade facilitation agreement to promote the free movement of goods across global borders. Under the Fisheries Subsidy Agreement, the WTO was discussing to eliminate subsidies on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities in all areas – regional (12 nautical miles from the coastline), special Including overlying areas in the economic zone or EEZ (200 nautical miles) and high seas (over 200 nautical miles).
“We have been successful in bringing a check on those involved in illegal fishing or illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities,” Goyal said at a press conference.
He said some countries are experts in IUU fishing. They, along with deep-sea fishing, are responsible for eliminating fish worldwide. India has been successful in bringing a regulation for them. This is a big victory for India.
Patent waiver on COVID-19 vaccine
India has been demanding a temporary suspension of parts of the WTO agreement on aspects related to the Trade in Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for the past year and a half. This could allow the sharing of vaccines and testing technology for COVID-19.
WTO members have finally agreed to suspend IPR measures for the manufacture and transfer of COVID-19 vaccines. However, exemptions as part of the agreement are limited to vaccines and not to other treatments such as testing or other COVID-19-related technologies.
According to AP news agency, WTO Director-General Njogi Okonjo-Iwela said the TRIPS exemption agreement will contribute to ongoing efforts to focus and diversify vaccine manufacturing capacity so that a crisis in one region does not cut off others.
This will help developing countries to make vaccines, Goyal said.
Public Stockholding Program for Foodgrains
India, along with other developing countries, sought a permanent solution from the WTO on public stock holding programs including crop support prices. The WTO considers subsidies provided for public stock holdings, including minimum support price (MSP) programs for crops, as trade-distorting support. It has to be maintained below 10 percent of the value of production. India and the G-33 are fighting for the flexibility to pay higher MSPs.
“MSP at which the Government of India buys, and India’s public stockholding program and food security; The importance of public stockholding has been re-established. There is no negative impact on India in the agriculture sector,” Goyal said.
other matters
According to a report in ET quoting sources, it was also agreed to find a final solution to the issue of continuing the moratorium on imposition of customs duty on electronic transmission of goods after the WTO’s next ministerial conference or after March 2024.
The issue of continuation of moratorium on customs duty on e-commerce trade was also under discussion. India has opposed the continuation of the moratorium and asked for a review in the matter.
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