Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) Attempts by developed countries to reopen old issues in the WTO Doha round negotiation would be “counter-productive” and the talks should build on the progress made, India said Wednesday, a day ahead of the informal trade ministers’ meeting in Paris.

“India has maintained that negotiations must continue to build on the progress already made. Attempts to unravel or reopen issues on which a lot of progress has been made would be counter-productive,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said in a statement.

Reiterating India’s commitment to successful conclusion of the Doha round of the World Trade Organisation, Sharma said much time and effort has gone into the negotiations over the last 10 years and the results should not be lost.

The Doha round of talks, often called development round, was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001. The talks are deadlocked over sharp disagreements between developed and developing countries on issues related to agriculture, non-agriculture market access (NAMA) and services.

An informal ministerial meeting of WTO members are scheduled to take place in Paris Thursday following two-day ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Indian commerce and industry minister is attending both meetings.

“This is a good opportunity to discuss what lies ahead in the Doha round after the director general and the negotiating chairs brought out the comprehensive reports on April 21, 2011,” Sharma said.

The reports map the progress made so far while pointing to the wide gaps that remain unresolved across all WTO issues.

Developed countries are now seeking to rebalance the perceived “disparity” in the contribution between developed and emerging countries and to achieve, if not equalisation, a harmonisation of their tariffs.

“India views such an attempt to shift goal posts as unacceptable and as a violation of the mandate,” a commerce and industry ministry statement said.