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The News
The News
The News
- Indian minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal, while addressing the G-33 Virtual Informal Ministerial Meeting said that historical asymmetries and imbalances must be corrected to ensure a rule-based, fair and equitable order.
- Goyal highlighted that Agreement on Agriculture at the WTO was riddled with deep imbalances, which favour the developed countries and have tilted the rules against many developing countries.
- G-33 meet was organised by Indonesia to discuss the agricultural priority issues of G-33 ahead of the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
What is this G-33?
- G33 is a coalition of developing countries, established before the 2003 Cancun ministerial conference of WTO.
- They have continuously coordinated during the “Doha Round of WTO negotiations”, specifically in regard to agriculture.
- The group has strongly advocated the creation of a “special products” exemption. Sometimes they are also referred as “Friends of Special Products in agriculture”.
What is this Agreement on Agriculture?
- WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture was concluded in 1994-95.
- AOA is aimed to remove trade barriers and to promote transparent market access and integration of global markets.
- AOA is considered highly complicated and controversial because it has become a tool in hands of developed countries to exploit weak countries.
- Note: Negotiations are still going on for some of its aspects.
Why AOA is criticized?
What is the issue?
- The Export subsidies are aligned to 1986-1990 levels, when export subsidies by developed countries was substantially higher and Developing countries almost had no export subsidies that time.
- Amber box subsidies were bound to levels of 1986-1988. There was inequality at very beginning of the agreement. At that time subsidies which latter came under ‘Amber Box’ were historically high in western countries.
- For balancing this, India as part of Group of developing and least developed nations (G-33) proposed amendment to AOA in 2008.
- Current quest of G-33 is towards achieving permanent solution.
- As of now, Peace Clause was agreed to in 2013 which allows us to perpetually continue our food stocking program at administered prices, without being dragged into WTO for violation of AOA.
What is the issue?
What is the issue?
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