How should India respond to WTO drafts? (Debate)

  • 27/05/2008

  • Economic Times (New Delhi)

The two new negotiation drafts put out by the WTO have not gone down well with developing countries. They claim the drafts do not address their concerns and even seem to drive a wedge between them. Three views. I S S U E S Can the new negotiating texts take the stalled WTO process forward? Do they provide India enough flexibility to protect its farm sector from imports? Do you think the Nama text is an attempt at dividing the developing world and falls outside the Doha mandate? AMIT MITRA Secretary General FICCI SO TWO more negotiating drafts have arrived from the WTO. We had hoped that the new texts would inject a dose of fresh energy towards conclusion of the Doha round. We expected them to place the muchneeded