Tag: wto

Categories
-Top News India News

India talks tough at WTO

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal also cornered WTO for failing to protect the health of the people of poor nations during Covid-19 pandemic, reports India Daily Newsdesk

India talked tough in Geneva. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in his remarks at the closed-door session at the 12th ministerial conference touched on the spiralling food inflation and the need for the agreement on food stockholding by the developing countries.

Piyush Goyal said, “After the Bali Ministerial Decision in 2013, the General Council in 2014 mandated permanent solution on the issue of public foodstocks, which has already been delayed. It should be the topmost priority for 12th WTO ministerial meeting (MC12), before we move to new areas. Nothing is more important than this for the people of the world.”

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal also cornered WTO for failing to protect the health of the people of poor nations during Covid-19 pandemic. He said, “The pandemic reinforced the importance of “One Earth One Health”, calling for global solidarity and collective action. My country ramped up supplies of medical products to provide medical and health items globally. Unfortunately, the WTO could not respond with alacrity. We have let down the people of the LDCs and developing countries. The rich countries need to introspect.”

Earlier on Sunday, India participated in the G33 Ministerial Meeting organised by Indonesia. At the meet, the Commerce Minister said, “We are fighting for developing countries and LDCs. They are always at the receiving end.” He mentioned the Uruguay agreement and how the developing world got a raw deal in the past.

Goyal told reporters that he discussed and put forward India’s point of view on food stocks, fisheries, agriculture and vaccines in meetings with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Trade Representative of the United States of America, Katherine Tai and South Africa Trade Minister Ebrahim Patel in Geneva.

He also emphasised that India will not buckle under any pressure. In reply to a question, he said, “There is no power on earth that can put pressure on today’s India. No one can pressurise today’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. We can face any challenge. We don’t take any decision under pressure.”

India also cautioned the WTO about any agreement on curtailing subsidies in fisheries. Goyal said that we must not repeat mistakes of the past.

He continued, “Fishing by my country’s traditional fishermen and women is to address hunger, poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, which is largely sustenance fishing. Their right to life and livelihood cannot be curtailed in any manner.”

“On the contrary, those nations responsible for the depleted fish stock should assume responsibility, having exploited the oceans for far too long by giving subsidies. Fisheries are global public commons and should be shared equitably considering the past and being mindful of the future to strike the right balance on the principles of common but differentiated responsibility.”

“For food security and eradication of hunger, sustainable fishing is as important as agriculture, which is an important SDG goal. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the Uruguay round in Agriculture in a Fisheries agreement,” he added.

An important issue under negotiation at the WTO relates to the protection of India’s food grain procurement programme at Minimum Support Prices (MSP).

Such programmes involve the purchase from farmers at administered prices and are key to supporting the farmers and consumers in the country. WTO rules limit the subsidy that can be provided to such products being procured.

This issue is being negotiated at the WTO by the G-33 and the African Group which has come together along with the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP group) in submitting a proposal on a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes on 31 May 2022.

India co-sponsored a G-33 proposal for a permanent solution on PSH for food security purposes at the WTO, on 15 September 2021, which had the co-sponsorship of 38 Members.

In the negotiations, improvements are being sought by developing countries over the ministerial decision adopted at the ninth ministerial conference of the WTO in Bali in December 2013 where members agreed to negotiate a permanent solution on the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes by the 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO.

It was agreed that in the interim, until a permanent solution is reached, Members would exercise due restraint (commonly termed as ‘peace clause’) in raising disputes in respect of public stockholding programmes for food security purposes instituted before 7th December 2013, even if countries exceeded their permissible limits.

Consequent to the firm stand taken by India at the WTO, this peace clause was extended by a decision of the WTO General Council (GC) in November 2014 until a permanent solution was agreed and adopted.

Thus, it was ensured that the ‘peace clause’ would be available in perpetuity. At the Nairobi Ministerial Conference held in December 2015, WTO members agreed to engage constructively to negotiate a permanent solution.

India neither wants to link public stock holding (PSH) issue with other agriculture issues nor a work programme as negotiating a permanent solution has a standalone mandate at the WTO, the ministry said. (inputs from ANI)

ALSO READ-Russia may sever ties with WHO, WTO

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Russia may sever ties with WHO, WTO

The WHO member states have already tried to force the health body, which typically avoids taking a stance on politics, into taking action over the invasion…reports Asian Lite News

Russia may sever ties with prominent global bodies as President Vladimir Putin continues to isolate his nation from the West following the invasion of Ukraine, Daily Mail reported.

Moscow’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday sent a list of international organisations to the parliament, with orders to review it and break ‘obligations [or] treaties which do not bring benefit, but direct damage to our country’, deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade Organisation are among the names on the list, Russian news agencies reported.

It comes after Western countries cut off large parts of the Russian economy from the global trade via sanctions, with hundreds of Western businesses pulling out of the country to protest the war.

The WHO member states have already tried to force the health body, which typically avoids taking a stance on politics, into taking action over the invasion, Daily Mail reported.

Just last week, they had voted in favour of a non-binding resolution condemning Russian attacks on Ukrainian healthcare facilities, and the effect of the war on public health.

The same resolution also called on WHO chiefs to consider closing their office in Moscow and relocating it outside the country.

Russia condemned the resolution as “exclusively political in nature” and said it had no bearing on healthcare provisions in either country.

Plans to withdraw from the WTO, which sets benchmarks for global trade for its members, have been tabled in Moscow many times before.

Russia only joined the global body in 2012 after 19 years of negotiations, with many viewing some of its terms as unfavourable to Moscow while also giving the West a tool with which to punish the country.

ALSO READ-Turkey threatens not to approve Sweden’s NATO bid

Categories
-Top News China USA

WTO allows China to slap $645 mn tariffs on US imports

The WTO arbitrator issued the decision on Wednesday on the level of countermeasures China may request in its dispute with the United States regarding US countervailing duties on certain products from China….reports Asian Lite News

The World Trade Organisation issued a decision in the US-China dispute over subsidy duties on Wednesday and said that Beijing can impose duties on USD 645 million worth of US imports annually.

“We determine that the level of N/I of benefits accruing to China as a result of the WTO-inconsistent methodologies used by the United States in the CVD proceedings concerning products imported from China is USD 645.121 million per annum,” said a decision by the WTO arbitrator on Wednesday.

“Therefore, in accordance with Article 22 of the DSU, China may request authorization from the DSB (Dispute Settlement Body) to suspend concessions or other obligations at a level not exceeding USD 645.121 million per annum,” read the decision by the arbitrator.

The WTO arbitrator issued the decision on Wednesday on the level of countermeasures China may request in its dispute with the United States regarding US countervailing duties on certain products from China.

“In light of the parties’ arguments and evidence in these proceedings, we have determined that the appropriate level of N/I is USD 645.121 million per annum. We have calculated this figure based on the parties’ agreement to use a two-step Armington model,” said the decision.

The decision also said that the present arbitration proceedings arise in a dispute initiated by China against the United States. The challenged measures of the United States relating to the imposition of countervailing duties on a range of Chinese products, and the investigations leading to the imposition of such duties. These measures were found to be WTO-inconsistent in the original and compliance proceedings, following which China requested the DSB authorization to suspend concessions at an annual amount of USD 2.4 billion, according to WTO.

Calls for blacklisting Chinese firms

An international cross-party network of legislators across the European Union, the United Kingdom, India, Australia and Canada have called on their governments to block investors from bankrolling firms perpetrating forced labour abuses in China’s Xinjiang province.

This comes after reports emerged that HSBC has held shares in a subsidiary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), which was hit by US Treasury Department sanctions in 2020.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) said the 35 legislators, representing over 10 countries, urged their governments to draw up a blacklist of entities identified as perpetrating atrocities in the Uyghur Region, with firms barred from investing in blacklisted entities.

The calls were made in a series of separate letters, attached, coordinated by the IPAC and sent last week.

Prominent signatories include Reinhard Butikofer MEP, chair of the European Parliament’s China delegation; Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, former leader of the UK Conservative party; Australia Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching and Indian BJD MP Sujeet Kumar. The letters were addressed to the legislators’ respective finance ministers, including European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness and UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

The calls come after it was revealed that HSBC had purchased GBP £2.2 million of shares in Xinjiang Tianye, a plastics manufacturer owned by the XPCC, IPAC said in a press release.

“The XPCC, a Chinese state-operated paramilitary conglomerate, facilitates the Xinjiang’s coercive labour transfer programmes and operates many of the region’s so-called ‘vocational training’ centres – where experts believe at least one million Uyghurs have been detained and subjected to abuses including, forced labour, torture and sexual abuse,” the IPAC release said.

HSBC has previously come under fire from members of IPAC for its role in freezing the assets of former Hong Kong opposition legislator Ted Hui in December 2020.

The events led to HSBC being called before the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, where it was accused of abetting the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement. (ANI)

ALSO READ: EU to sue China over Lithuania

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

EU to sue China over Lithuania row

European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said China was blocking Lithuanian imports and imports from other EU states, if they have components coming from Lithuania….reports Asian Lite News

The EU has accused China of “illegal” trade practises as it launched an official dispute on behalf of one of its smallest member states, BBC reported.

The row was sparked when Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy there, angering Beijing which sees Taiwan as part of its territory.

China downgraded its diplomatic relations with Lithuania, but denies ordering a boycott of Lithuanian goods, the report said.

The EU has now taken the case to the World Trade Organisation.

European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said China was blocking Lithuanian imports and imports from other EU states, if they have components coming from Lithuania.

Dombrovskis told the BBC that the EU would still try to find an “amicable solution” in parallel with pursuing the WTO case.

But experts say the WTO case could easily become bogged down.

“It will probably take years to litigate,” said Noah Barkin, a Visiting Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, the report said.

Valdis Dombrovskis said: “The EU is respecting the One-China policy and our assessment is that steps taken by Lithuania do not step out of the One-China policy framework.”

Beijing has denied ordering a trade boycott but the European Commission says it has evidence that China is refusing to clear Lithuanian goods through customs, rejecting import applications and pressuring EU companies to remove Lithuanian inputs from their supply chains, BBC reported.

ALSO READ: Kashmir handicraft all set to conquer European markets

Categories
India News

India defends sugar policy, rejects WTO findings

At the WTO in 2019, Australia, Brazil, and Guatemala alleged that domestic support provided by India to sugarcane producers is in excess of the limit allowed by the WTO…reports Asian Lite News

 Terming them “completely unacceptable”, India on Tuesday said, there would be no impact of World Trade Organisation (WTO) Panel’s findings on any of the country’s existing and ongoing policy measures in the sugar sector.

“India has initiated all measures necessary to protect its interest and (decided to) file an appeal at the WTO against the report, to protect the interests of its farmers,” a statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.

At the WTO in 2019, Australia, Brazil, and Guatemala had challenged some of India’s policy measures in the sugar sector. “They had wrongly claimed that domestic support provided by India to sugarcane producers is in excess of the limit allowed by the WTO and that India provides prohibited export subsidies to sugar mills,” the release said.

“The Panel issued its report on December 14, in which it has made certain erroneous findings about our schemes to support sugarcane producers and exports,” it said.

Stating that the findings of the Panel are “completely unacceptable to India”, the statement said: “The Panel’s findings are unreasoned and not supported by the WTO rules. The Panel has also evaded key issues which it was obliged to determine. Similarly, the Panel’s findings on alleged export subsidies undermines logic and rationale.”

India believes that its measures are consistent with its obligations under the WTO agreements, the statement added.

ALSO READ: SpiceJet, DHC ink settlement deal

Categories
-Top News UK News

UK helps broker groundbreaking WTO agreement

As the world’s second-largest services exporter, the UK is among the countries positioned to benefit the most from its terms…reports Asian Lite News.

Britain’s world-leading services sector is set to benefit from a landmark deal announced at the World Trade Organisation on Thursday that could cut trade costs by £113 billion per year.

Some 67 WTO members, including both developed and developing countries, have delivered an agreement on Services Domestic Regulation which cuts red tape around licensing and qualifications and is set to reduce services trade costs by up to 7% annually.

Britain has been a strong and vocal participant throughout negotiations since they were launched at the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in 2017, particularly after formally taking up our independent seat at the WTO last year. As the world’s second-largest services exporter, the UK is among the countries positioned to benefit the most from its terms.

British businesses consistently cite complex administrative procedures as barriers to accessing international markets. The new rules will make it easier for businesses of all sizes – particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – to navigate foreign markets and obtain authorisation to export overseas.

Britain will be among a handful of nations applying the new rules across the broadest possible range of services sectors, including financial services. The biggest savings are likely to be in finance and tech – helping ensure London retains its position as Europe’s leading financial centre.

Anne Marie Trevelyan MP

Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan said, “We are delighted to have played our part in bringing about this historic deal, which shows exactly the kind of cooperation we want to see at the WTO and demonstrates it can deliver trade rules fit for the 21st century. As the world’s second-largest services exporter, the UK is particularly aware of how important it is to cut red tape and get trade flowing to build back better from the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, reacting to the development, Miles Celic, CEO, TheCityUK, said, “This agreement will be celebrated by the UK’s financial and related professional services industry. It is an essential step towards removing the types of trade barriers most often experienced by services exporters. This necessary and innovative agreement will reduce costs for UK businesses, support women’s economic empowerment, and is a significant win for the WTO and wider multilateral economic cooperation.”

ALSO READ-UK aims to end HIV infections, deaths by 2030

Categories
-Top News China

China draws fire for breaking trade rules

The US was far from alone in complaining about China’s failure to live up to its obligations under the WTO….reports Asian Lite News

The US and a number of its closest allies have used a periodic review of Chinas trade policy by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to vent their anger at Beijings unwillingness to conform with rules meant to establish a level playing field for all participants in the global exchange of goods and services, VOA reported.

The regularly scheduled Trade Policy Review, which allows China’s trading partners to make official statements about policies to which they object, came last week as China marks 20 years of membership in the WTO, a group that works to establish rules for trade among its 164 member countries.

“When China acceded to the WTO 20 years ago, WTO members expected that the terms set forth in China’s Protocol of Accession would permanently dismantle existing Chinese policies and practices that were incompatible with an international trading system expressly based on open, market-oriented policies,” said David Bisbee, who is serving as the charge d’affaires ad interim of the US Mission to the WTO in Geneva, the report said.

“But those expectations have not been realized, and it appears that China has no inclination to change,” he continued in prepared remarks.

“Instead, China has used the imprimatur of WTO membership to become the WTO’s largest trader, while doubling down on its state-led, non-market approach to trade, to the detriment of workers and businesses in the United States and other countries.”

The US was far from alone in complaining about China’s failure to live up to its obligations under the WTO.

Representatives from various governments around the globe catalogued a long list of ways in which they said China bends or breaks the rules, the report said.

Among other things, they said that China distorts markets by subsidizing state-owned firms, ignoring intellectual property rights, limiting foreign firms’ access to its markets, using forced labor in some manufacturing and agricultural sectors, coercing smaller governments to accept unfair trade practices, and more, the report added.

ALSO READ: China conducts 1st underwater explosion test

ALSO READ: China’s phone shipments reach 249 mn units

Categories
-Top News India News World News

BRICS foreign ministers call for WTO reform

Stress need to restore the normal functioning of all WTO’s functions as highlighted in the Joint Statement by BRICS Trade Ministers on Multilateral Trading System and the WTO Reform of 2020, reports Asian Lite News

BRICS Foreign Ministers, during their standalone meeting, held in a virtual format reaffirmed their support for a transparent, rules-based, open, inclusive and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core.

They reiterated their support for the necessary and urgent reform which would inter alia, preserve the centrality, core values and fundamental principles of the WTO and consider the interests of all members, including developing countries and LDCs, recognizing that the majority of the WTO members are developing countries.

It is critical that all WTO members avoid unilateral and protectionist measures that run counter to the spirit and rules of the WTO, BRICS Foreign Ministers said in their joint statement.

They stressed the need to restore the normal functioning of all WTO’s functions as highlighted in the Joint Statement by BRICS Trade Ministers on Multilateral Trading System and the WTO Reform of 2020.

They emphasized the primary importance of ensuring the restoration and preservation of the normal functioning of a two-stage WTO Dispute Settlement system, including the expeditious appointment of all Appellate Body members.

The Ministers acknowledged that global economic governance in an increasingly interconnected world is of critical importance for the success of national efforts for achieving sustainable development in all countries, and that, while efforts have been made over the years, there remains a need to continue improving global economic governance and to strengthen the role of the United Nations in this regard with extensive consultations and joint contributions for the shared benefits.

The Ministers reiterated the important role of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in the integrated treatment of trade and development, finance, technology, investment and sustainable development and reaffirmed support for its vital mandate and promotion of an open and inclusive global economy and provision of development oriented policy analysis.

On international financial architecture, the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to broadening and strengthening the participation of emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) in the international economic decision-making and norm-setting processes, especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

To that end, they stressed the importance of continuing efforts to reform the international financial architecture, noting that enhancing the voice and participation of EMDCs, including the least developed countries, in the Bretton Woods institutions remains a continuous concern.

The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a strong Global Financial Safety Net with a quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at its center and expressed their deep disappointment at the failure in addressing the quota and governance reforms under the 15th General Review of Quotas (GRQ).

They called for the timely and successful completion of the 16th GRQ by December 15, 2023, to reduce the IMF’s reliance on temporary resources and to address under-representation of EMDCs for their meaningful engagement in the governance of IMF and to protect the voice and quota shares of its poorest and smallest members and have a new quota formula that better reflects the economic weight of members.

The Ministers called for governance reform in the recruitment processes of the World Bank and the IMF by ensuring selection through an open and merit- based process, noting that the true potential of the Bank and Fund would be realized only by building more democratic governance structures and strengthening their financial capacity.

Fresh push on UNSC reform

In their joint statement, Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on Tuesday recommitted to instill new life in the discussions on reform of the UN Security Council and continue the work to revitalize the General Assembly and strengthen the Economic and Social Council.

They took note with satisfaction of the 2020 review of the peace building architecture and agreed to reinforce their coordination in the peace building commission.

The Ministers recalled the 2005 World Summit Outcome document and reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges.

China and Russia reiterated the importance they attach to the status and role of Brazil, India and South Africa in international affairs and supported their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN.

They also commended India and South Africa for their respective present and recent terms served in the UN Security Council. They also recognized the candidacy of Brazil as a UN Security Council member for the 2022-2023 biennium.

ALSO READ-BRICS nations discuss social security pact

READ MORE-BRICS Focus On High Performance Computing