India, China, US fail to reach consensus at WTO meet

By Vivian Fernandes, CNBC-TV18

The World Trade Organization (WTO) talks have failed; India, China and the United States have failed to reach a consensus on reforming farm trading norms.

Trade ministers from over 30 countries, worked overtime over nine grueling days staying well past their original timetable hungry for the success of the WTO talks after a sting of failures over the past seven years.

The issues were contentious. The position had entrenched for a brief while on Friday. There was hope as trade ministers agreed on a compromise put forward by Pascal Lamy the WTO, Director General. The founder on the issue of special safeguard mechanisms, that is defenses in the form of additional duties that the developing countries can impose to guard against the surge and the imports of subsidized farm produce and consequent price slumps.

There were three triggers that could activate these defenses. But developing countries argued that they were useless, as additional duties could not pierce the maximum permissible import duties unless imports surge by 40%, which they said could be pretty devastating on their farmers. In a way it was a contest between commercial agricultural interest and the livelihood concerns of subsistence farmers.

This is not an issue between India and the US, India had to support more than 100 developing countries including China. The exclusive focus on special safeguards was also seen by developing countries as a US ploy as it had little to offer on the issue of cotton subsidies.

There was sadness as the talk ended because success at this time would have come as welcome news for a world facing threats in food, fuel and financial services markets.