Tornado Alley (PROG)

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NEW DELHI — As the unofficial voice of developing countries in the deadlocked World Trade Organization trade talks, Kamal Nath has been called a lot of names in recent weeks — including stubborn and irresponsible.

The latest round of talks among a group known as the G4 nations — India, Brazil, the United States and a representative of the European Union — ground to a halt late last month after Nath, India’s minister of commerce and industry, and Brazil’s foreign minister, Celso Amorim, walked out. The US trade representative, Susan C. Schwab, described their actions as ‘‘inflexible’’ and ‘‘low ambition,’’ and said they could harm emerging nations.

The stalled talks are emphasizing a deeper issue: In some ways, the balance of power between advanced and developing countries is shifting, politicians outside the West, including Nath, say. ‘‘The reality is that there is a new economic architecture,’’ Nath said in an interview this week in his New Delhi office.

‘‘This new economic architecture is going to have new windows and new doors. It can’t be wished away.’’

India and Brazil are refusing to open their markets further to goods from Western countries without a substantial reduction in subsidies provided to Western farmers.

On Thursday, Brazil filed a complaint with the WTO about US farm subsidies. ‘‘This complaint attacks the entire US farming policy,’’ Donizeti Beraldo, head of trade and international affairs at Brazil’s National Agriculture Confederation, was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying. Then, referring to the trade talks, Beraldo added, ‘‘If the US fails to advance on talks, they will be at risk of more complaints.’’

WTO members are preparing for what is expected to be a decisive round of negotiations at the group’s headquarters in Geneva. On Monday, the presiding officers will release draft agreements that could form the basis of a compromise or, depending on the view of countries like India, give a firm indication that the current round of trade talks begun in 2001 is on its last legs.

Nath, whose office includes a shelf of thick WTO-related publications, was quick to brush off questions about his flexibility, but still left no room for compromise.

The issue is not flexibility, he said: ‘‘It is removal of subsidies, which are a distortion of global trade.’’ Unless they are removed or substantially reduced, he continued, there will be no way to go forward with the talks. ‘‘Is anyone saying that fair trade means the continuation of subsidies?’’

OF COURSE, HE KNOWS "WE" WEALTHYS BUILT ON OUR SUBSIDIES AND NOW WE DENY THE SAME BOOST TO THOSE WE HAVE BEEN RIPPING OFF.

India and Brazil are asking the United States to reduce the estimated $22 billion in subsidies that it allots to farmers, and the European Union to trim its farm aid from 55 billion euros ($75.8 billion), saying the subsidies keep food prices on world markets artificially low and make it difficult for farmers from developing countries to compete.

Advanced industrial nations would like to see a substantial reduction in the taxes on exports to countries like India and Brazil to give their manufacturers access to those fast-growing economies.

Nath said he is seeking some understanding from the United States. Despite the growth of outsourcing and high-technology jobs in India in recent years, agriculture still supports about two-thirds of the country’s citizens.

India is in the midst of an economic boom that has driven up stock market indexes, wages and real estate prices to near record highs. Still, Nath was quick to distance the country from developed- nation economies.

India ‘‘is so far away from the United States and the European Union,’’ he said. ‘‘We have 300 million people that live on $1 a day. We’re talking about 100 years before India hopes to get anywhere close to the United States or the European Union.’’

Nath’s hard line in the WTO talks was in marked contrast to his three-year stretch as commerce minister. There, his tenure has been characterized by an increasing openness to foreign investment and partnership at home. He has sometimes faced criticism that he is too business-friendly.

Nath said his growing role as spokesman for developing nations is not deliberate. ‘‘I am doing what I am required to do and what is appropriate for me to do for India and for other developing countries,’’ he said.

In his view, the trade talks, which were intended to break through bottlenecks that have halted worldwide agreements, have been a failure.

‘‘The G4 process has not led anywhere,’’ he said, ‘‘so I think that the G4 process will be forgotten. We should expand this into a larger process that will be more inclusive.’’ (NY Times)

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India says WTO’s new proposal could revive stalled trade talks

NEW DELHI — The World Trade Organization’s latest proposal on cuts in import tariffs and farm subsidies could help revive negotiations on a new global trade pact, India said Friday.

The latest negotiating drafts from the WTO offered a good reason to resume the deadlocked talks, although New Delhi has concerns over some of the content, said Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath.

‘‘It is not a text of convergence. (But) this text is a good basis for intensive negotiations,’’ Nath told reporters. ‘‘We hope that in September negotiations start.’’

The Doha trade talks, named after Qatar’s capital where they were launched in 2001, aim to add billions of dollars to the world economy and help poorer countries benefit from new trade flows. Negotiations have been deadlocked because of wrangling between rich and poor countries over eliminating barriers to farm trade and, more recently, manufacturing trade.

The WTO draft agreements released Tuesday require the United States to reduce its trade-distorting farm subsidies to a level between US$13 billion and US$16.4 billion. In return, major developing countries such as Brazil, China and India will have to give greater cuts in industrial tariffs.

The proposal didn’t make any major new demands for liberalizing farm markets in the European Union, which has already offered substantial cuts.

Diplomats from member countries of the world trade body will start discussing the proposal next week, though negotiators appear to have given up hopes of reaching a final accord by year-end.


India has concerns over the proposals relating to industrial tariffs, but that would not come in the way of restarting the talks, Nath said.

‘‘It is a package ... at least, now, there are certain parameters,’’ he said. ‘‘So we can move forward.’’

Nath also came out in support of China, which has objected to a proposal in the WTO draft that gives Beijing only a two-year grace period before it is required to cut industrial tariffs. China, which joined the WTO in 2001, wants a 10-year grace period.

‘‘Newly acceded members should get some concession,’’ Nath said. ‘‘China has already contributed its part (to trade liberalization).’’

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