India has made a strong pitch for protecting the interests of the developing and under-developed countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal, representing India at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC12) in Geneva, raised concerns about the “skewed” WTO reforms proposal, imperative need to retain the Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) provisions for the developing world, global inequities in Covid vaccination and public stockholding (PSH) of foodgrains.
Speaking on the ‘Challenges Confronting the Ministerial Session’, Goyal said the current proposals for WTO reform could fundamentally change its institutional architecture, skewing the system against the interests of developing countries. “We need to move ahead, preserving the core principles of consensus and ensuring S&DT, with people and development being at the core of WTO’s future agenda,” said Goyal.
“Those who question the need for S&DT provisions are aware that the per capita GDP of the developed countries is 20 to 50 times that of the developing countries. Even India is at the lower end of the per capita GDP supporting 1.4 billion people. I believe the developing world aspires to work for a better future. Is it humane, fair or even equitable that the developing world takes the same obligations as the developed nations?” he added.
Goyal said that the Covid pandemic had exposed the inability of the world to promptly respond to any crisis, whether on food security or health, economic well-being or open supply chains.
“When the world was desperately looking for relief, the WTO was found wanting. As an example, vaccine inequity persists even two years after Covid. When people in LDCs (Least Developed Countries) and several developing countries are yet to be vaccinated, there are some countries who have already administered the 3rd or 4th dose,” Goyal said, adding, “This is a collective failure of global governance and we need to introspect. Those responsible need to seriously reflect deep within their hearts. It will help us craft a more equitable, fair and prosperous future for every citizen of the world and finally achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) we had all collectively agreed upon.”
To rebuild trust and credibility, Goyal said, we must first address mandated issues like the “permanent solution” to PSH agreed upon nearly a decade ago.
“The current global food crisis is a reminder to us that we act now! Can we risk the lives of millions of people dependent on food stocks maintained for the poor and vulnerable?” Goyal asked.
“During the pandemic, India alone distributed 100mn tonnes of foodgrains free of charge to 800mn Indians at a cost of nearly $50bn. This was over and above the foodgrains distributed as part of our National Food Security Programme, thus ensuring that nobody ever slept hungry,” he said.
Goyal argued that while negotiating the fisheries subsidies, the livelihood of traditional fishermen could not be compromised.
“We cannot institutionalize the privileges of a few countries and take away the right to progress for those who are working for the vulnerable marginalized sections of society. Particularly for those countries who are not engaged in harmful deep-sea fishing, we need to have different views. Otherwise, we may have a similar situation like the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), where inequities and asymmetries persist, causing several countries to still depend on food aid,” he said.
On climate issues, Goyal proposed that we need to adopt environmentally-conscious, more sustainable lifestyles, based on the 3Ps of “Pro Planet People”.